Vanilla Scented Dust. ITS A MIRACLE!

[DragonEggs]

I've been reading a lot about the vanilla scented christmas tree car fresheners being used to repel flys from coops. Awhile back I asked if anyone ever let their chickens bathe in chicnchilla dust and if it was safe. I was told yes and have let my chickens take a weekly dust bath in a litterbox of chinchilla dust. They come out smelling good and all sparkly!

Well while browsing the pet store the other day I came accross some Vanilla Scented Chinchilla dust! I thought "hmmm I wonder.... just maybe...." so I bought some. My chinchilla hates the stuff but the chickens seem to LOVE it! And guess what? Since they've taken their dust bath there has been a dramatic decrease in not only flies but MOSQUITOES as well! It seems all the flying/biting insects have taken a vacation from bothering my flock and they in turn seem a lot happier! And they smell WONDERFUL and are so shiny and sparkly! I see no downside to this whatsoever! And the stuff was cheap, only like $5 for a whole bottle!

I wonder if this will help keep lice/mites away.... Now if only I could find something so wonderful for the ants.....

Anyway, I just thought I would share this with everyone! Maybe it will work for you all too!

 

[Stina]

That's awesome!

 

[elmo]

Does the bottle list the ingredients? I wouldn't imagine that real vanilla would be dangerous, but I wonder what goes into an imitation vanilla scent. I do know from keeping parrots that many air fresheners are toxic to birds, but that's in an indoor environment.

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Verry interesting. But how do you get your chickens to dust bathe where YOU want them to?

 

[DragonEggs]

Ingredients are:
Finely Powdered Volcanic Ash,
Natural Oil Absorbers,
Fragrance.

Thats all!

I know parrots and other exotic birds as such are very sensitive to what is in the air.

Oddly enough my chickens dust bathe in the litterbox all on their own! They seem almost excited when I bring the box out full of dust and the girls crowd to get in it!

I bet it depends on what kind of floor you have. I imagine it would be more difficult to get free range chickens to bathe specifically. if you have a concrete floor or a bunch of grass with limited access to dirt I bet they would be keen to jump in it. The ground here is really sandy so they enjoy bathing in the sand as well. I've thought about spreading some on the ground and in their nesting hay.

Also, and I'm sure this is gonna sound nuts, I refrigerate the dust so that when I bring it to them on a hot day it's nice and cool. I'm all about exploiting my freezer/fridge for different things to keep my babies cool! I freeze bananas as treats for all the animals!

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

My flock is (mostly) free-range. They havea couple of dust-pits they dug out and I suppose I could dump chinchilla dust in them, but I would have to leave it there. I suppose that would be ok in the summer, since it doesn't rain here much at all. I am just suspicious... I wonder if they would abandon their dust pits and make new ones if I interfered. They don't often appreciate my meddling, even when I am trying to do them a favor.

 

[Whispering Winds]

I just hung up 6 of the air freshners in my Alpaca barn, and while its "open air" right now, already I can see a difference. Flies are still around the poop areas, which I just scraped and cleaned, but when I sprinkle down the equine pine stuff that will cut them dramatically there. I think we are onto something, and going to keep the chincilla vanilla scented dust in my notebook for when I actually do get chickens. . .

I wonder if we could "make" our own vanilla and then soak them in when they loose their strength instead of buying new ones? They are made of pretty tough material, or could we make them outselves out of flannel stuffed with maybe quilt batting just a bit to give it a little more power???? I paid $2.18 for 3 at Wal-mart and that is going to get $$ after awhile. The $1 store cheap vanilla might work too . . . soak overnight, let air dry and then hang?? or hang them wet and just let them dry in the barns?

 

[hughmac312]

I'm going to have to try this.

I don't have much of a problem now but it seems worthwhile.

We have to develop a code though, knowing corporate America, as soon as something takes
on "Fan Status" it will quickly escalate in price. All bow to businesses making money!! No I'm not a socialist
just pragmatic and fair minded.

Thanks for the information.

 

[vetgirl00us]

good cool dust??? NO wonder they crowd to get in lol

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
You are absolutely right. Reminds me of my brother in law back in the day that said that bologna use to be 69 cents a pound until all the poor people bought it up and then the companies raised the prices on it because it was in such demand. It's $$ today if you want the better quality too. I always said it is amazing what they can do with ying yangs and b***holes and a little seasonings.