What to use for dust bath?

[jp57]

Mine like to make holes under pine trees and an old coop that we are having torn down. I dug some deep holes for raspberry plants that I am going to plant soon, and threw some peat moss and compost in. I was out counting my chickens and was missing one. When I called them, I saw the missing ones head pop up out of the hole.

 

[saspratt]

I just find the holes they’ve decided on and add some Diatomaceous earth and shavings or ashes to them. Anytime I’ve tried to make a specific spot for it they ignore them.

 

[freezerpops]

I’ve dug out a sand pit in the sunny corner of their run; I put a ring of stones around it to help contain the dust. It’s filled with a mix of sand and soil, a little diatomaceous earth as well. They still dig holes around the run but not as much as before. I have a small litter box I’ve filled up with the same mix for my chicks but they seem to prefer rolling in the mud

 

[jolly wattles]

Mine love the outdoor fire pit. They prefer ash over anything . We we let them out to free range they make a beeline for it to see who gets the best spot. It's also Conways (roo) favorite part of the day as its easy mating time.

 

[biophiliac]

That actually makes so much sense...our chickens have dug 3 holes in their run, and I couldn't figure out why. They don't have a dust bath at the moment, so I'm sure that's what they were doing! My mind was just blown! Haha thanks so much! Maybe we'll just have to loosen up the dirt in the run for them a little bit (it's really hard and cracked, so I as planning to do that anyway!).

Half the fun for them is the satisfaction of digging it themselves. I wouldn't help unless they aren't making any progress.