waterproof this dust bath?

[chickity-chick]

Hi all! I am building a dust bath similar to this picture. I am also using that clean roofing material to cover three sides of it as well. However I want to know if I should screw in a tarp or some sort of bottom to keep water from leaking underneath it and wetting the soil in the bath. I’m not sure what the best way to water proof dirt could be. Should I make a wood bottom? Any advice is appreciated! Thank you all!

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

the dryer the better, the bottom depends on if you want to move it, or dump it out at some point, no bottom would be harder to do either. Mine are very good at inventing dust baths all over the place, happiest ones are at the foot of pine trees where there is nice shade and few plants grow.

The only ones I 'made' are an indoor one used when I need to keep a 'hospitalized' chicken happy (which is a little dish washing tub with some garden dirt that I 'cooked' dry by putting it on a very hot radiator in an old kitchen pot) and the other is a corner of the coop for winter bathing, since the ground is frozen solid for many months of the year. In both cases dumping it out is nice because it will at some point need to be changed, they bring or leave things in the bath.

 

[chickity-chick]

the dryer the better, the bottom depends on if you want to move it, or dump it out at some point, no bottom would be harder to do either. Mine are very good at inventing dust baths all over the place, happiest ones are at the foot of pine trees where there is nice shade and few plants grow.

The only ones I 'made' are an indoor one used when I need to keep a 'hospitalized' chicken happy (which is a little dish washing tub with some garden dirt that I 'cooked' dry by putting it on a very hot radiator in an old kitchen pot) and the other is a corner of the coop for winter bathing, since the ground is frozen solid for many months of the year. In both cases dumping it out is nice because it will at some point need to be changed, they bring or leave things in the bath.

I loved reading about your flock! Using a radiator is genius! I plan on cleaning mine out using a shovel so I don’t have to move it

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

just don't be heart-broken when they poo in the beautiful bath you made

(the ingrates!! )

 

[rosemarythyme]

My current dust bath is waterproof, which is a must for me because we get so much rain that ground dampness would keeping my old dust bath moist most of the year, even if I kept if covered.



A tarp may or may not work... if you can fit it snugly inside the bath, I don't see why it wouldn't work. Or if you could find a plastic tray that would fit inside, that would work as well.

 

[Black Rabbit Homestead]

These are exactly what I need in my run . I may have to modify a chicken pooper scooper for it though.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

chicken pooper scooper for it though.

I have recently tried peat moss (which is just a fine powder) and it is easy to keep clean, never becomes wet. It clumps up any poo, and that is super easy to clean with a cat-poo-scooper. It works GREAT for duck-poo (which is so wet it is usually a terrible mess) and also for chicken poo. The ducks don't dust-bathe but they do like to rummage through it looking for anything that might be in there. I have started hiding mealworms in theirs so they aren't hunting with no chance of success. I think they would like to find an occasional frog, but they will have to wait for spring to bring those.

 

[Black Rabbit Homestead]

I may need something bigger than a kitty scooper. I have a lot of birds together. They have a nice spacious run. What I should do is just build a second coop. Which has been our plan for years.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I gave up building dust baths, my chickens bathe wherever they please, but I've encouraged a few spots by (re)filling those areas that they seem to prefer with suitable bathing materials. Some prefer the grittiness of a good sand bath, while others (or at other times) prefer 'black dirt' (really dusty stuff once it's been sitting out in the sun for months, they love it) that seems to 'talc' them down. One is in full sun, the other in partial shade under the bananas.
Edited to add: Neither is covered by a roof.

 

[Stephanie8806]

I will second the comment that says The hey gave up building dust baths. I had three tire dust baths, and my chickens never used them once. I got rid of them after about 6 months.

If they had worked out, however, I would have added a tire liner. Its a plastic bowl that sits inside a tire. They make them in two sizes, one for trailer tires, one for standard passenger vehicle tires. If you go to your local tire store(Les Schwab, Discount Tire, etc) and tell them what you’re using them for, they’ll let you take some tires from their replacement pile for free. They pay to have them disposed of so it’s no skin off their back.

If you have your heart set on it, I’d personally build that lean-to frame around 2-4 tires, and place the liner bowls inside. Solves the problem of moisture getting in from the bottom. Plus, it makes for easy cleaning. Just dump the whole thing and refill as needed. I’ll link the product I’m talking about below:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-round-tire-feeder-16-qt-asst-tf16rd