What do you use for a winter dust bath in your coop

[LynneP]

I use play sand and mix in a little food-grade diatomaceous earth and some Stable Boy powder...

 

[teach1rusl]

I use playsand with a cup of DE mixed in. Home Depot and Lowes both sell those shallow(ish) pans that can sit under a washing machine if you have a large coop. I use a planter base myself because my coop is fairly small.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Cold wood ashes from our woodburning stove.

 

[aalbury]

Does the amount of permethrin dust you put in matter? I have a can, but have not brought myself to use it as I worry about it being in the eggs or them digesting it....

I also read that I should put the food grade DE in their shavings - Their inside area is 10X12 with about 5-8 inches varying of very fine shavings - how much DE do I get?

 

[fasbendera]

Quote:
Do you have one of the kitty litter pans with the lid so it stays inside?

 

[2DogsFarm]

Before my yard was fenced, I put a fruit crate with peatmoss in the coop for them to use.
It was very popular and the high sides of the crate kept the peat from getting tossed out.

Since they are all grown up, I'll need to put something larger inside the coop this Winter.
Their fluffy butts are too big for the crate now.

I still have plenty of peat moss left in the bag but I may add some sand to the mix just to keep them cleaner.

Do I need to add Sevin dust to the mix in cold weather?

 

[Svarthona]

I´m not useing sand because I heard it damages the feathers if it´s not the rounded edges kind of sand from a river (in lack of better words)...? Hmmm. Do you all use the rounded edges kind of sand (not play sand) or did I hear BS and sand doesn´t damage the feathers?

For a dust bath I use soil from their favourite bathing place during the summer and add some wood ashes from our fireplace to it. They also have free access to our greenhouse where the soil stays dry and unfrozen during the winter. They love it but I need to fill it up with a lot of compost in spring, there disappears a wheelbarrow or two for bathing purposes during our winter months and it´s only a small greenhouse.

 

[joebryant]

My wife and I made four 4- X 10-foot "coops" in an area of our barn for breeding purposes. I made the mistake of putting in a black plastic box designed for cement-mixing in each "coop" and filling it with DE, packaged "top soil", and peat moss, By the time that the chickens had finished with it, it was all mixed in with the six inches of wood shavings/DE on the floor. Wish now I'd never given those messy brats anything but wood shavings and diatomaceous earth on the wooden floor for the winter.

 

[MimiChick]

Quote:
Do you have one of the kitty litter pans with the lid so it stays inside?

No, I didn't bother with a lid. The pan is in the outside covered run of the coop area, in a corner that has plexiglas on each side to keep out rain, etc. I suppose you could use a covered one if it were in an open run, but I've noticed the girls only seem go in it when the sun is on it; maybe because it's warm?