mobile coop&run = no dust bath?

[leannajones]

hi all, another newbie question from me.

we have a mobile combined coop & run which we move every day onto new pasture and weeds. is it bad for the chickens to have nowhere to dust bathe? the coop is raised so it shelters part of the run but it would never get a chance to become dusty under there, plus we live in a high-rainfall area.

 

[DavidKerk]

A dust bath simply helps keeps parasites off of the chickens. You could try a pan with sides that are about 5 inches high (or really anything that can hold some sand) and move that when you move the coop. About the rain, I've had chickens bathe in wet sand as long as it's loose enough. A dust bath is not 100% necessary but I'd strongly recommend one.

 

[khoe]

I would give them some sort of pan or box to bathe in, they really enjoy it, as well as keeping bugs at bay.