Transitioning from roofed to roofless run

[Windrider]

I love the Orp cocking her head at you as if rolling her eyes. She's saying, "really?"

If you have a bag of potting soil around, try throwing that in the mix. In my limited experience, you can make them a sandy dust bath, but they'll prefer to dust bath in a beautifully planted planter box every time.

 

[rosemarythyme]

And then, once I was done and the sand was in and it looked perfect, they gave me THIS:
View attachment 2486446

Not a single foot stepped inside

So I have a feeling that this will be another bunch of wasted effort.... But maybe, hopefully, after the next rain soaks everything else and this is the only patch of dry material left, they'll dust bathe there out of desperation!

Haha the judgemental look is great. It's ok, I went through 2 other dust bath set ups before I finally got one that they want to use.

If you have a bag of potting soil around, try throwing that in the mix. In my limited experience, you can make them a sandy dust bath, but they'll prefer to dust bath in a beautifully planted planter box every time.

If using a bagged "soil" best to go for the cheapest stuff, like topsoil or "soil mix" without any added fertilizers, perlite, etc. I use bulk bagged 100% peat moss since it's relatively easy to get and doesn't have any extras added in.

 

[Tervish]

I really like the plexiglass roof! They will probably start using it when you're not looking. They can't appear too appreciative .

 

[K0k0shka]

Throw some treats in there.

Yeah, I guess it will have to come to that...

 

[K0k0shka]

I love the Orp cocking her head at you as if rolling her eyes. She's saying, "really?"

Haha the judgemental look is great.

She's saying "That looks too clean. No thanks, I'll go roll around in the mud instead".
She's basically the one I built this dust bath for. The rest manage somehow, despite the everpresent dampness, but this one is FILTHY! Her butt fluff is full of sh** and her entire underside is crunchy from dried up who knows what. So she better get her butt in there or I'll have to roll her around in it!

If using a bagged "soil" best to go for the cheapest stuff, like topsoil or "soil mix" without any added fertilizers, perlite, etc. I use bulk bagged 100% peat moss since it's relatively easy to get and doesn't have any extras added in.

I used bagged topsoil under the sand, but I think it's the sand that throws them off. The same thing happened with the old dust bath, which they never used. I think the sand looks different enough from everything else that they don't want to step on it. Too light... Maybe looks too much like the dreaded snow? I guess they forgot that they grew up on sand, back in their brooder, and loved it then, including for dust baths!

I do have peat moss. I'll throw a bunch on top of the sand to hide it. It's dark and looks like their beloved soil, so maybe it will help...

I really like the plexiglass roof! They will probably start using it when you're not looking. They can't appear too appreciative .

Thanks! And yeah haha, of course they'll use it when I'm not looking... As long as they're using it, I don't care. I do have a camera in the run and can spy on them though

 

[ColtHandorf]

I never get tired of seeing pictures of your girls! That's a gorgeous dust bath. If you ever want to vacation in Texas I feel like I have a lot of projects you could help with. lol

 

[K0k0shka]

I never get tired of seeing pictures of your girls!

Thanks! I ogle yours occasionally, too

 

[K0k0shka]

Guys!!!

The peat moss...

It's MAGIC!!!

I'd been eyeing it in its bag, unused for years, but was too lazy to dig it out from under a bunch of stuff. @rosemarythyme thank you for giving me the final nudge to pull it out! I removed the roof and dumped a thick layer of peat moss on top of the sand. The chickens came over immediately and didn't wait for an invitation. Dirty Butt was first, and just couldn't help herself - she started digging and rolling and flopping right away! Then all of them started trying to cram themselves in there and dust bathe together. It was a glorious sight to behold, after two unsuccessful attempts and lots of labor being put into dust baths for nothing! Now I'm wondering if I should make it bigger... I made it as big as it is because that was the size of plexiglass I had for the roof. I do have one last unused panel left from the clear roofing though, which is 2'x6'... I'll put the existing frame/roof back over the dust bath tomorrow (no rain in the forecast, but it will raise the sides by 4" so they don't kick everything out), and hope they still use it. If it seems like they really want to dust bathe together, I might extend the brick part and just use the clear panel to cover it - just slap it on top weighed down by bricks when rain is in the forecast, then uncover it again. I'm not building another frame. But if today's dust bathing bonanza was a one-off event because of the novelty of it, I'll just leave it as is.

In action:

I love how politely they peck each other Everybody wants to get in there, but nobody is mean enough to really drive the others out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Guys!!!

The peat moss...

It's MAGIC!!!

I'd been eyeing it in its bag, unused for years, but was too lazy to dig it out from under a bunch of stuff. @rosemarythyme thank you for giving me the final nudge to pull it out! I removed the roof and dumped a thick layer of peat moss on top of the sand. The chickens came over immediately and didn't wait for an invitation. Dirty Butt was first, and just couldn't help herself - she started digging and rolling and flopping right away! Then all of them started trying to cram themselves in there and dust bathe together. It was a glorious sight to behold, after two unsuccessful attempts and lots of labor being put into dust baths for nothing! Now I'm wondering if I should make it bigger...

Yay! Glad it worked!

And yeah I'd want to make it a bit bigger if possible. My entire flock can't fit in their dust bath either, but if they go in 2 batches they can fit haha.

 

[K0k0shka]

Yay! Glad it worked!

And yeah I'd want to make it a bit bigger if possible. My entire flock can't fit in their dust bath either, but if they go in 2 batches they can fit haha.

View attachment 2488548

Damn, I should've just made it big and covered it before a rain (like I imagine you do) instead of building a roofed structure... Another round of pointless labor But maybe I can use that roofed frame for something else. I'm going to fence off part of the run for integration purposes in the spring/summer (I'm hatching more chicks!) so maybe the new chicks can use the roofed frame for shelter if it rains while they're out there... (the fenced off section won't be under the umbrellas).