Managing Dustbathing Areas

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Hi all!

I'm not new to raising chickens, but I recently moved to a farm and we haven't quite gotten everything going again. Previously, we had bark chips all over the place as weed control, and the hens loved dust bathing in it! However, we're not doing so much weed control but want to have a nice outside spot for the girls to dust bath..

Is it easy to just dig a small pool spot and fill it?

What is the best to give for dustbathing? Sand, barkchips, etc?

Thanks!

 

[Monguire]

My chooks enjoy the 1/2 sand 1/2 dirt mix in their run for bathing. Common additives folks like to dump in for pest-control are a bit of food-grade DE and/or wood ash. Both are wonderful for external parasite control and the chooks will often eat a bit of the ash...i'm guessing it also provides some tiny nutritional value or else they wouldn't eat it.

Absolutely you can dig a small hole and fill with stuff for them to bath in. The only problem I ever ran into was them not bathing where I wanted them to. I'd dig a little pit and go to the time/expense of filling it with sand/dirt/ash and they'd ignore it. Chickens....sigh.

 

[aart]

How to 'manage' it?


Make a nice depression in the ground and fill with lovely things like sand, loose soil, maybe some peat moss, wood ash etc....
......then watch them dig a foot deep hole not more than 3 feet away from your carefully prepared one!

Sorry....seriously tho....yes, make them a spot, see if they'll use it, but don't be surprised if they find their own.

 

[centrarchid]

I am using a silty loam mixed with potting soil and ash left over from burn pile. The mixture fills a metal washtub about 1/3 full. Tub has a hole in the bottom so rain quickly drains out. Tub was kept in a sunny location with a good view of surroundings yet near cover. Birds picky about location and I had to play with things to get birds into desired use over flower bed. Yesterday we had to cannibalize tub for use in capturing a swarm. I will try a plastic protein tub next.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm with aart on this one! Mine dig holes all over the place. I might add some wood ashes to a good spot, but otherwise They do their own thing. Mary

 

[aart]

I'm with aart on this one! Mine dig holes all over the place. I might add some wood ashes to a good spot, but otherwise They do their own thing. Mary

The holes they dig blow my mind...tho I think some of mine were helped by mole tunnels.

Oh and if you add ash, they will eat some, turns their poop black.