I've been on BYC for several months and have been talking to folks in the MIddle Tennessee thread, but somehow completely missed this thread until today. It's nice to meet other Tennesseans who enjoy keeping chickens.
When I let my chickens out to free-range - I always stay right out there with them since we live out in the country and there are lots of predators around. They wander around pecking and scratching but eventually they always make their way to my rose bed. They love dirt-bathing in it. I let them dig some holes around the edges - then I fill up the holes - then they dig them out again. However, they're getting a little too close to the root systems of the roses. Soooooo. Here is my idea before they completely ruin the roses. I have a kids' pool - hard blue plastic - about 60 inches diameter. Do you think I could fill it up with dirt/sand/DE - and train them to dirt-bathe in that instead? Anybody tried something like that before?
When I let my chickens out to free-range - I always stay right out there with them since we live out in the country and there are lots of predators around. They wander around pecking and scratching but eventually they always make their way to my rose bed. They love dirt-bathing in it. I let them dig some holes around the edges - then I fill up the holes - then they dig them out again. However, they're getting a little too close to the root systems of the roses. Soooooo. Here is my idea before they completely ruin the roses. I have a kids' pool - hard blue plastic - about 60 inches diameter. Do you think I could fill it up with dirt/sand/DE - and train them to dirt-bathe in that instead? Anybody tried something like that before?