Why are my chickens now taking dirt baths?

[Ellie]

I swear mine are digging a hole to China. Sometimes, you can barely see them above the hole they have dug!

 

[Biddieacres]

Quote:

 

[ranchhand]

Waaaay back when, I got two Leghorns and bought a book about chickens. Sort of like the "Sunset Guide" type books. I was only on page 10 when I looked out back and both hens were dead in the dirt, all contorted like it had been a horrible death. I went flying out the back door in a tizzy, yelling for SO to come quick, the girls are dead.

We got there, stood looking at the poor hens, trying to figure out what killed them............
and I swear to this day, Hanky looked up at us and winked!

eta, the other one's name was Panky. We loved telling people we had a little hanky panky going on in the backyard............

Hey, it was south Austin, anything goes!

 

[Biddieacres]

 

[WoodlandWoman]

They often do like to take a nap afterward. Those pictures of contorted chicken bodies laying around, sleeping after a nap, always make me laugh! It doesn't look very comfortable to me! Lots of people have thought their chicks were having a seizure when they took their first dust bath in their litter, too. Darn chickens are going to give somebody a heart attack one of these days!

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Our tiny babies will take little "dirt baths" on the clean paper towels in their brooder.

It is so cute to see these little bodies spinning around and twisting in impossible positions.

I just

chickies!!!

Mine like to drive me crazy though. I use the deep litter method in my coop with a door that opens to the inside. NOT my smartest idea. They love to do their little bath in the deep shavings, right inside the door so I can't open it!!!

 

[PortageGirl]

Quote:
First off, Happy to meet you! Glad you're here!!

Hope you enjoy our company!!

WELCOME to BYC!

I think you need to rename Roosie, he should be Fonzie or Joe Cool cause he sounds like he really loves to chill!!

 

[JennsPeeps]

Last summer I bought some terra cotta planters in which I was going to grow a gorgeous crop of hot peppers. (FAIL!) At the end of the summer I brought the pots into my utility porch and left them there. Well, a couple of weeks ago I stacks the pots outside the back door.

The next day I walked out back and it was like the top pot had barfed all of its potting soil over a 5' radius.

Here's why:



They made a tremendous mess!

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

My girls get very territorial when they bathe. They have one prime spot under the house with thin, dusty, light brown dirt. Sadly, we're planning to close it off sometime soon and they will have to make their own tubs somewhere else. For now, though, they each have their own places. The top-dogs (both hens and roos) get the biggest holes in the middle. The lower-rankers get the leftover, small or only partially dug (due to rocks in the way) holes at the edge. It's fun to watch.

One of my girls will growl if I disturb her!

Sometimes it'll be almost totally dark out and I'll poke her to get up. She'll grumble and ignore me. Even chickens like relaxing baths!

 

[denimangle]

newbie question .. My Chicks are in a tractor coop with a penned yard .. I has wire on the bottom as well .. do I need to put dirt in a tub/box so the girls can take a dirt bath? could DE be used?

thanks
Cheryl