what to do fo keep the chickens feathers shiny

[farmer10]

What should I do/use to keepy chickens feathers shiny

 

[lazy gardener]

More protein in the diet. Be sure they have a good place to dust bathe.

 

[farmer10]

In new to this. What is dusyt bathe? And what would be a good place for them to do it?

 

[lazy gardener]

Chickens will dig a hole in the soil, and loosen the soil up. Then, they'll climb in, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time, and they'll roll around in the soil, fluffing their feathers, using their feet and wings to scuff the soil up into their feathers. It's a way for them to clean their feathers, and rid themselves of any external parasites. If your flock doesn't have opportunity to make their own dust bath, give them a deep container full of soil, perhaps a little peat moss, a bit of cold stove ash, and some fine sand.

 

[donrae]

Dust bathing....spa time in the coop! My coop is deep liter so the ladies just use that as their bath.

Nice shiny feathers are indicitive of good overall health. If you've not read the sticky called Speckledhens's 10 Commandments, take a look there for some good basics on flock management.