Using wood ashes??

[crazyhen]

Definity dilute the ashes. They are too alkaline to be used straight. they will burn their feet. Mix with sand or soil before allowing the chicks to use them. Remember that is where we get lye to make lye soap. Gloria Jean

 

[allison finch]

I mix playsand, wood ash, topsoil and a couple big handfulsof DE and put it in a cement mixing tub. The girls take turns dusting in it.

 

[chickenmeadow]

I came across a great recipe for homemade NATURAL DUST BATH & put about 6" of this mixture into a plastic kitty litter box bottom, this is placed under a roof so rain doesn't get it. An additional one is put in an unavoidable heavy traffic area so they walk thru it in hopes of avoiding scally leg mites too. This mixture is working out well.

Have seen the chickens carry off chunks of wood ash to eat, not aware of a problem with this charcoal eating; let me know? Have some eucalyptus growing in my garden, has anyone crushed this for use in next boxes?

NATURAL DUST BATH

1 part wood ash
1 part diatamaetous earth
1 part sand
1 part road dust (fine dusty dirt)

 

[greenpeeps]

we have an outdoor woodburner and there's a small pile of ashes behind the burner and under a pine tree. I can usually find the girls there giving themselves a dust bath. My son loves to watch them. He can't figure out why they don't get yelled out.

 

[RestlessCrow]

When you screen your wood ashes, SAVE the lumps of charcoal that are in it and throw them in your garden. I do this ALL the time because the charcoal traps chemicals such as nitrogen and holds it in the soil, to be released later for the plants. The amazing part of all this is that it was the Aztecs who came up with the idea and transformed their soils into a SUPER soil. Here's a link:

http://www.yourselfsufficiency.com/Gardening/your-self-sufficiency-terra-preta-soil.html

I know it's a little off topic... but try it. I'm already beginning to see the difference in my gardens.

 

[kwynn's birds Alaska]

I use a rubbermaid tote that is desiged to slide under a bed. It fits 3-4 chickens. I mix a little sand in with it, because it seems to keep the dust clouds down a little bit. I read somewhere that the ash particles choke out lice and mites. I treated them with buhach once, and kept up with the wood ashes. (we live in Alaska, so we never have a short age of wood ashes) I didn't think about putting it in the nestboxes though. that's a good idea!

 

[darkmatter]

I use a old tractor tire filled with sand and wood ashes. The chickens love it and after they dust bath in the wood ashes, they will get up and ruffle their feathers----it looks like a smoke cloud with a chicken in the middle. Its amazing how often I have to refill the tire with sand from the creek and a bucket of wood ashes from the metal garbage can that I use to dump my wood stove ashes from in the winter. The sand helps drain the wet when it rains, the tire helps hold everything in one place, the ashes help prevent lice/mites, the sand also provides grit for their gizzard. I only occasionally need to spade/fork up the mixture.

 

[kathyinmo]

Like darkmatter, I also have an old tractor tire. Actually, I have 2 of them; one in the run and one out where they free range. I have them filled with sand, soft dirt, and wood ashes. I often sprinkle in some DE, and / or poultry dust. These are my chooks' favorite hangouts! I love watching them take their dust baths!