Has anyone made your own dust bath

[Relleoms]

I bought the bagged peat moss and dumped it in a big plastic container with a lid and they love it! My coop & run are covered in a fine layer of peat moss, but the chickens are happy! Our ground is frozen, so it’s nice to be able to cover it to keep it dry. Your kid’s sandbox should be perfect!
This is June doing her thing:

 

[21hens-incharge]

I just noticed on another feed back in Sept you commented about the kind of peat moss you use for your dust bathing areas ... you buy it in dried bales? I'm glad I saw that because I wouldn't have known about that, I would have gone to the store and bought a bag of it haha. Where do u get it in the dried bales? Do u leave the area open? I was going to use my toddler's old sandbox to make them a dusting area and I can cover it at night to keep the rain and snow out

I get it at Home Depot. Get the stuff without added fertilizers. Just plain ole Peat.
Keeping it dry is very important since the sand box likely does not have drainage.

 

[Then I Will]

I have a big red tub filled with loose soil and wood ash... but they haven't used it yet! They still prefer to dig holes in the run... what can I say?

 

[farm_girl726]

I bought the bagged peat moss and dumped it in a big plastic container with a lid and they love it! My coop & run are covered in a fine layer of peat moss, but the chickens are happy! Our ground is frozen, so it’s nice to be able to cover it to keep it dry. Your kid’s sandbox should be perfect!
This is June doing her thing:

Perfect! Glad to know a small space wont stop them! I was worried a small area they'd reject it. Thank you! Yeah we have to move our coop this spring, the landscape changed and now my coop floods, found out the hard way yesterday. Luckily I don't have any tiny babies at the moment. My 2 youngest get up out of the water just fine. (Everyone was out playing in the rain yesterday! Crazies!) When we move the coop I'll be sure and pick up a bag of peat moss to put down on the ground before I put down my straw!

 

[farm_girl726]

I get it at Home Depot. Get the stuff without added fertilizers. Just plain ole Peat.
Keeping it dry is very important since the sand box likely does not have drainage.

No the sandbox doesn't have drainage but I can drill some holes in the bottom, I was thinking covering it at night and during bad weather would help keep it dried out ... or should I be sure to add the drainage holes too? You've been super helpful!!

 

[farm_girl726]

I have a big red tub filled with loose soil and wood ash... but they haven't used it yet! They still prefer to dig holes in the run... what can I say?

Mine are digging up my bushes to make their own dirt bath or they were using my toddler's sandbox so I've had to find another solution. I'm hoping I can encourage them to try this instead.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

I use wood ash i burn myself from trees my brother inlaw fells for us to burn for heat in the winter, I mix it with sand and dirt and my guys LOVE it.

I will never use DE in my flock again it made my hens and roosters and everyone in between very sick with respiratory infections which was not labeled on the container as a caution I had to find it out the hard way and spent many hours googling their product, it even bugged my dogs and rabbits when I sprinkled it around their cages outside after I placed them in when the dust died down.

 

[farm_girl726]

I get it at Home Depot. Get the stuff without added fertilizers. Just plain ole Peat.
Keeping it dry is very important since the sand box likely does not have drainage.

What is your ratio for peat to sand > ash?

 

[farm_girl726]

I bought the bagged peat moss and dumped it in a big plastic container with a lid and they love it! My coop & run are covered in a fine layer of peat moss, but the chickens are happy! Our ground is frozen, so it’s nice to be able to cover it to keep it dry. Your kid’s sandbox should be perfect!
This is June doing her thing:

Do you use just peat moss?

 

[farm_girl726]

I use wood ash i burn myself from trees my brother inlaw fells for us to burn for heat in the winter, I mix it with sand and dirt and my guys LOVE it.

I will never use DE in my flock again it made my hens and roosters and everyone in between very sick with respiratory infections which was not labeled on the container as a caution I had to find it out the hard way and spent many hours googling their product, it even bugged my dogs and rabbits when I sprinkled it around their cages outside after I placed them in when the dust died down.

What's your ratio of mixing? Just wing it? hah