Topic of the week - Dustbathing

[FlockAround-andFindOut]

Any use for marigolds? I feel like I've read that they can be used to supplement in a dust bath

 

[Fwoof]

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Anyone who'd ever watched a chicken take a dust bath will know that this is an instinctive, important and enjoyable aspect of chicken life. This week I would like to hear what you all, especially the keepers of confined flocks (non-free ranging), do with regards to dust baths. Specifically:

- From what age on do you provide a dust bath for chicks?
- What do you put in your flock's dust baths? (Soil, sand, ashes, DE, mite and lice powders, etc)
- Suggestions for dust baths in coops/runs and overwinter?

Pic by @fayeoli ​

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My runs are pretty much just dry dirt. My flock can bathe and scratch to their hearts' delight.
As for babies, since I raise them indoors, I take them out on daily field trips to my succulent garden (if the weather is fair and after newly hatched ones have had a few days to acclimate to the brooder). It's the perfect size for tiny babies to stretch their wings and play, and the dry dirt is perfect for practicing how to bathe. Fluffy biddies rolling in the dirt is just about the most wholesome thing ever!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

View attachment 2987149​

Anyone who'd ever watched a chicken take a dust bath will know that this is an instinctive, important and enjoyable aspect of chicken life. This week I would like to hear what you all, especially the keepers of confined flocks (non-free ranging), do with regards to dust baths. Specifically:

- From what age on do you provide a dust bath for chicks?
- What do you put in your flock's dust baths? (Soil, sand, ashes, DE, mite and lice powders, etc)
- Suggestions for dust baths in coops/runs and overwinter?

Pic by @fayeoli ​

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

The ground is just desert sand here so they dust bathe anywhere and everywhere year 'round. We don't add anything. We started taking the chicks outside when they were only a few days old and the immediately started dust bathing. So cute.

 

[CabritaChicks]

The ground is just desert sand here so they dust bathe anywhere and everywhere year 'round. We don't add anything. We started taking the chicks outside when they were only a few days old and the immediately started dust bathing. So cute.

I start taking my chicks outside early and always set them up with a little “day spa” in the brooder—sand, dry clay compounds, grit, rocks, and dirt included. It’s hilarious how fast they figure out dust bathing… meanwhile, humans have to be taught how to bathe. Maybe that’s why chicks smell better than some people I’ve met.

 

[BDutch]

- From what age on do you provide a dust bath for chicks?

As soon as the chicks go to the run with mamma hen. Normally after 5-7 days.

- What do you put in your flock's dust baths? (Soil, sand, ashes, DE, mite and lice powders, etc)

Soil, play sand (guaranteed free of toxics) and a few spoon (about 2-5% in volume) diatomaceous earth (DE). This way the DE is not irritating for their lungs at all. I believe it helps a lot for lice and mites.

- Suggestions for dust baths in coops/runs and overwinter?

I made a dust bath spot in the run under a window (angle). The chickens dustbath in the coop with small covered run too. The floor is soil with sand too. They dig a hole to make the perfect tub.

When the soil in the garden is dry the chickens take sand baths in sandy spots between the plants too.