What is your favorite dust bath mixture?

[Hens rule]

I use dirt in my yard that's really dry and dusty and DE. (My chickens usually make dust bathing spots by themselfs though.)

 

[BuffOrps416]

I've never tried DE... My girl goes in the area under the coop and under her favorite bush that has very dry dirt.


Is DE harmful?

 

[naturegeek168]

I've never tried DE... My girl goes in the area under the coop and under her favorite bush that has very dry dirt.


Is DE harmful?

As with anything there are about 5,000 different opinions on DE. Also everything in moderation is a good idea. I personally have no problem with it and tons of people have not only used it on their animals but also on themselves. However as @Victoria-nola said, "it's best to avoid constant breathing of any dust", so everything in moderation. Also like many people have stated on here, pool grade DE, VERY BAD, food grade not bad at all. On top of all of the other places listed on here (amazon, TSC, ect) you can also find food grade DE at whole food stores. Like I said, even people use DE on/in themselves.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Interesting thread! Thinking of making a dust bath

 

[ladyearth]

has anyone tried a cedar roost?? sanded smooth ???
I read on here that some type of grounds just harbor mites... I guess since so many wild birds around here and many trees. Many voles and prob mice too
so they were prob here long before the chickens.....
SOON as I read about straw being HOLLOW... It was immediately taken out Did the clean nice shavings.... Gave that up too.. Even though I still have four new bags of it stored under one of the sheds "wings" in closed clean "cans"
Just use big rubber mats on the floor.... with changed out newspapers
Now use clean NEW paper grocery bag single thicknesswith little FG DE and FG Sulfur and some Nesting herbs in kitty litter new covered "boxes"
same with ASH esp in a confined area......like under the new shed or in their raised 3 foot up truck topper
My ALARM ligte went off in my brain. FINALLY .... after sev weeks... Watching them emerge "gray" from the ash Dust.. Got real scared.......
Immediately remembered vacuum cleaner repair guy say dont vacuum "ash" because it clogged the filter and motor. OH NO
Lungs are "fliters" supp like that cant be unclogged.....
" Chicken Chick lady" said Coarse sand.....
but of course they prefer their own spots....so its hard to add the FOOD GRADE SULFUR and DE (tiny tiny) amt to their areas...
I add the sulfur when they dont see me...
cause otherwise they go "aw..aw" and leave..

 

[wingedshade]

I need to setup something for my birds in the coop since their yard is frozen solid. \
The indoor birds are a different matter. I have a recovering chicken and quail in cages. At first I bought large dog bowls for the quail, but they flung sand and stuff everywhere! So I bought chinchilla bathhouses for them. I use dry garden peat moss mixed with traction sand and sometimes I put some of the chinchilla dust in with it. So far, so good. I wanted to use garden soil, but everything I had in the house had pearlite in it, and I didn't want them to eat it. The house chicken gets that mixture in the bottom of a cat carrier, and I put that into the bathtub for easy cleanup.

 

[dmaldet]

I made a very simple dust box in one corner of the coop. Just two pieces of paneling screwed to wall and added a piece of wood to the attaching corner pieces of paneling and screwed them together. Then cut out a step up entrance so the dusting materials stay in. Kinda same thought as a kitty litter box but no lid.

I used play sand and DE but I am going to add some wood ash as soon as I can clean out my fire pit and burn some clean wood. Who knows what the kids have thrown in and burned in the fire pit. I made it approximately 2'x3' and they are using it. Height is close to 2'. I just used scraps that I had around in the garage.

 

[Shezadandy]

This is the nightly dust bath party in our coop. They flop down pretty much everywhere and go to down. We use pine pellets which are broken up over time (can also be dampened with the fine spray of water from the hose to break them down faster) until they become a fine texture. In the summer, of course, they prefer the real dust outside, but here in Oregon dust doesn't exist in the fall/winter/spring- just mud.

 

[Beekissed]

Clay....just plain ol' clay based soil or actual bagged clay.

 

[SJ]

Wood ashes from the wood burning furnace. The birds love it and its no longer just compost material. White birds get ashy looking of course.