Keeping dust down in the barn?

[redbone]

Just curious what people do to help keep the dust down in the barn. I've put down kiln dried "low dust" wood shavings all over the place, but dust is still pretty bad. If a chicken flaps its wings the least little bit, its like a dust storm.

I've thought about doing something like spraying something like mineral oil around on the wood shavings thinking that it might help.

Thoughts on this idea or do you have any?

 

[LynneP]

If you use a bit of stall product like Stable Boy, Stall PDZ or Stall Dri in with the shavings, the density of the product, at about 2, will assist in trapping the dust. The shavings and sawdust have an average density of 0.5-0.7. When setting up from scratch I use about 4 cups in 2 bales of shavings in a 9 x 11' floorspace, and each time I add a blae of shavings I add about 2 cups more, mainly on the perimeter and especially near the pop door and the big people doors. Often this is a mix of the stable product and food-grade DE, which is a dessicant also with a density of about 2, and which serves as a preventive for parasites like lice, ticks and mites. Iuse the same tactics throughout the rest of the barn, spreading this combination to absorb spills and odors and sweeping it out to the dump pit.

But I rather think that because we keep birds and because they groom their feathers into a fine dust, that it is impossible to eliminate entirely. Keeping the coop dry, and ventilation is a big part of this, helps.

Some other thoughts-

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-Coop_Hygiene