Start and Grow dust bath? Really?!!!

[dharmasister]

Ok, so today I was hanging put with my girls after doing a thorough coop cleaning and my 6 week old Polish Crested started taking a dust bath in the feeder. I've got them on Start and Grow which is powdery, crumbly and much like dust so I get that they could be confused if they were just introduced to it and the feeder was new but they've been on the same feed their entire lives!! They've been out in the coop and using the feeder for over two weeks now so that should be nothing new. It was cute but probably not something to be encouraged. And the other chicks started following her lead, lol,!!! Any ideas how we can curtail this natural but misplaced behavior. We are still building the run so they can't dust bathe where they normally should.

 

[azygous]

If you don't want to see this behavior repeated, you need to buy or make a feeder with limited access. It can be something as simple as laying a sheet of half to one inch hardware cloth over the feed dish.

And why not make them a dirt bath? Fill a wash basin or broiler pan with some sand and peat moss. Or frame out a corner of the run for something a bit more roomy. All girls need spa time!

 

[iwiw60]

Ok, so today I was hanging put with my girls after doing a thorough coop cleaning and my 6 week old Polish Crested started taking a dust bath in the feeder. I've got them on Start and Grow which is powdery, crumbly and much like dust so I get that they could be confused if they were just introduced to it and the feeder was new but they've been on the same feed their entire lives!! They've been out in the coop and using the feeder for over two weeks now so that should be nothing new. It was cute but probably not something to be encouraged. And the other chicks started following her lead, lol,!!! Any ideas how we can curtail this natural but misplaced behavior. We are still building the run so they can't dust bathe where they normally should.

The best, easiest, and cheapest solution to your problem is simple...PVC tube feeders! They are great, and if I can make them so can you...I'm a 70-year-old single gal and it was a snap. Here's a picture of what I mean:



I took this picture to the hardware store. I ended up buying the following to make 2 feeder tubes:
1. 1 3" PVC tube
2. 2 caps for the 3" pipe
3. 2 90-degree for 3" pipe
4. 2 street 45's for 3" pipe (don't ask me why they're called "street 45's" .. they just are!)

I simply cut the PVC pipe in half, which gave me 2 4-foot sections. DON'T USE GLUE on the pieces, simply twist them into position. To the one end push a 90-degree piece, followed by the street-45...that's IT!! I attached mine with those u-shaped metal bracket thingies top and bottom and rested them on a cinder block.

WARNING: Be sure to put your foot over the bottom when you first fill them, otherwise it dumps out...I know because it happened to me!! Yikes!

They won't be dust-bathing in their feed anymore! Hope this helps...wishing you all the best!

 

[dharmasister]

If you don't want to see this behavior repeated, you need to buy or make a feeder with limited access. It can be something as simple as laying a sheet of half to one inch hardware cloth over the feed dish.

And why not make them a dirt bath? Fill a wash basin or broiler pan with some sand and peat moss. Or frame out a corner of the run for something a bit more roomy. All girls need spa time!

I think I may try this. We don't have a lot of room left in the coop, but if it will keep Beethoven from wasting feed by bathing it.......

 

[dharmasister]

Ok, so today I was hanging put with my girls after doing a thorough coop cleaning and my 6 week old Polish Crested started taking a dust bath in the feeder. I've got them on Start and Grow which is powdery, crumbly and much like dust so I get that they could be confused if they were just introduced to it and the feeder was new but they've been on the same feed their entire lives!! They've been out in the coop and using the feeder for over two weeks now so that should be nothing new. It was cute but probably not something to be encouraged. And the other chicks started following her lead, lol,!!! Any ideas how we can curtail this natural but misplaced behavior. We are still building the run so they can't dust bathe where they normally should.

The best, easiest, and cheapest solution to your problem is simple...PVC tube feeders! They are great, and if I can make them so can you...I'm a 70-year-old single gal and it was a snap. Here's a picture of what I mean: I took this picture to the hardware store. I ended up buying the following to make 2 feeder tubes: 1. 1 3" PVC tube 2. 2 caps for the 3" pipe 3. 2 90-degree for 3" pipe 4. 2 street 45's for 3" pipe (don't ask me why they're called "street 45's" .. they just are!) I simply cut the PVC pipe in half, which gave me 2 4-foot sections. DON'T USE GLUE on the pieces, simply twist them into position. To the one end push a 90-degree piece, followed by the street-45...that's IT!! I attached mine with those u-shaped metal bracket thingies top and bottom and rested them on a cinder block. WARNING: Be sure to put your foot over the bottom when you first fill them, otherwise it dumps out...I know because it happened to me!! Yikes! They won't be dust-bathing in their feed anymore! Hope this helps...wishing you all the best!

That is EXACTLY what I asked DH to build me. I even showed him a post with directions like yours. THIS is what I got...... It's beyond me why I didn't get a PVC feeder, DH is a custom sprinkler pipe fitter and works with PVC everyday. We have PVC in our shed, he has PVC in his work truck So now we have this.....

 

[iwiw60]

Listen, take the bull by the horns, print off my post and go to the hardware store. Find a good guy to help you and buy those parts. You can slap it together in less than 20 minutes!!!

 

[dharmasister]

Listen, take the bull by the horns, print off my post and go to the hardware store. Find a good guy to help you and buy those parts. You can slap it together in less than 20 minutes!!!

That is so tempting, I really wanted a PVC feeder, so clean, less waste, etc. But my sweet husband would be so hurt if I did that. He was so proud of his work. He really thought he built me something I'd like so much more. He tends to build things in a really half-a*# manner that drives me nuts. He is the king of twist ties and duct tape. Which is the reason that my run isn't built yet. He wants to build it out of...... wait for it........ plumbing pipes!!!!!! I have this in my yard.....



He built it out of pipes left over from a job he completed. I hate it, I think it looks redenecky (I hope that's not considered derogatory to anyone out there, lol) and I don't want my chicken run to look rednecky.

 

[iwiw60]

That is so tempting, I really wanted a PVC feeder, so clean, less waste, etc. But my sweet husband would be so hurt if I did that. He was so proud of his work. He really thought he built me something I'd like so much more. He tends to build things in a really half-a*# manner that drives me nuts. He is the king of twist ties and duct tape. Which is the reason that my run isn't built yet. He wants to build it out of...... wait for it........ plumbing pipes!!!!!! I have this in my yard.....



He built it out of pipes left over from a job he completed. I hate it, I think it looks redenecky (I hope that's not considered derogatory to anyone out there, lol) and I don't want my chicken run to look rednecky.

Well, sounds to me like DH is acting like a cry-baby

Me? I'd tell him "listen, it's costing us three times the money in wasted feed, let's go to the hardware store, buy this stuff, and get it over with already!" (sound too harsh?)

 

[dharmasister]

Well, sounds to me like DH is acting like a cry-baby

Me? I'd tell him "listen, it's costing us three times the money in wasted feed, let's go to the hardware store, buy this stuff, and get it over with already!" (sound too harsh?)

No, I dont think he'd be a cry baby about it, but I do think he'd get his feelings hurt. He worked hard in the blistering heat building it for me and he thought I'd like it more than a feeder made out of pipes. I did, after all, turn my nose up at his swing made put of pipes.