Newb Question: Chicken won't stop wallowing in the mud.

[HerAlterEgo]

Hi everyone,

I am a newb to raising a flock. I have 6 chicks that are now 8 weeks old. The white leghorn will not stop wallowing in the mud. It acts like a dog rolling in trash or a cat rolling in catnip. She'll lay on her side and roll the top of her head in the mud and kick her legs through the mud like a cat pawing at a pillow. She is really quite OCD about it. Even if I bring her to a dry area of the yard, she will work her way back over to the air conditioning unit to roll in the run-off. And with the hurricane weather that just drenched south Texas, my whole yard is a mushy. Is this behavior normal? Aside from bathing and drying the chicken, does anyone have recommendations? I can't bare to leave her in the coop while the rest of them are happily pecking around the teeming-with-life wet yard.

Thanks,
HerAlterEgo

 

[noodleroo]

It might be the last thing that would feel good to you or me, but in this south Texas heat, I'll bet it feels great to her!! You could bathe and dry her, but I'll bet she just gets dirty again. Unless there's some other issue other than her just looking dirty, I'd let her roll where ever she wants. After all, she's just going to do it when you're not looking anyway....

 

[Tiramisu]

Its perfectly normal

its just dust bathing...in mud lol.

 

[tfromtx]

When any of my girls do "dirt bathing" I know they're happy!!! It is completely normal... And I think a good sign that all is well in her world.

 

[Gonzo]

Awee! I had some white orps that LOVED mud! Afterwards they wern't "white" anymore! I bet that really helps cool them off!

 

[jbowen9]

Its something about white since everything that i have is white loves mud and is quiet attracted to it I had white silkies and decided to get rid of them because they always stayed brown no matter how many baths they got.

 

[HerAlterEgo]

Thanks for the responses folks. I'm a little more eased. She seems rather happy to roll around for several hours at a time. My concern is just the thick dark Texas clay, it's dried all over around her eyes. I guess I'm just being overprotective because she was all clean while in the house under the light and she is the only one doing it so far.

 

[crj]

I have chickens that stand in the ac water a lot during the day. I think it's the only place the water stays cool. I could have water in other places and it's just not the same, I guess.