[chelseablue]

hi

how often do your hens dust bath, I have noticed that mine will only do this on warm sunny days (not very many of those at the moment) I havent put a dust bath in their run because of all the wet weather, on the few sunny days they are dusting in the coop where the sun comes through the hatch hole, going to put one in the run when the weather gets better

[Louise]

i watched our hens have a dust bath at the weekend. It is the first time i have seen them doing this since we got them about 2 1/2weeks ago. It started with one and one by one they all joined her, so i had 4 happy hens flicking dust all  over my green house.I watched them for about half an hour.
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[Selkie]

Louise, I love how the white one has one of her legs up in the second photo!

I thought mine were a bit daft as they always get into the one 'hollow' even though there's never enough room for both of them -- but maybe dust bathing is a real 'communal' event, seeing how your four are all squashed together too?

Does anyone out there have hens who do it seperately? :?:


this is my favourite photo of our two in a dust bath - I think they look like yin and yang

[Louise]

Louise, I love how the white one has one of her legs up in the second photo!

if you look just to the left of her foot - thats her beak, the bottom of it, so her head is upside down too. She is now an off white greyish colour!!!

your hens look all big and cuddly can't wait for mine to be like that

[Selkie]

She looks very happy!

[GrannieAnnie]

Phew, that's a bit better, hope you don't mind Louise, but I put your photo's underneath each other as it was taking ages to scroll from one end of the screen to the other, but any chance you can make them a bit smaller please?

We'd be able to see you chooks better.    Thanks   Ann

[Louise]

Thanks Granny.

i will try!!! will ask OH to show me how

[Fat Hen]

Not much dust around here at the moment but plenty of mud & my chucks seem to like that just as much, of course they get even filthier.    

[westie]

I put a tray of sand out for mine and they're scared stiff of it. They go the long way round just to avoid stepping in it! Funny to watch their avoiding tactics though

[Aunt Sally]

My girls dust bathe every day I'm fairly sure. It is very important for ridding themselves of parasites.

I would recommend  giving them a dust bath with some kind of shelter over it  to keep it dry if you can.  bit like a cloche for hens  

PS Try pixreizer to make you piccies smaller: http://www.photo-freeware.net/pixresizer.php or http://www.vodahost.com/pix.htm

[SnooziSuzi]

Mine do it in the greenhouse!  the soil in there is dry so every chance they get they are in there, kicking the dust everywhere and making a mess!  

wouldn't change them for the world!

[ness]

Mine definitely have "dust bath days" and it does seem to be on sunnier days.
Plus I agree when one starts they all want to join in, even if it defeats the object!

Not much space left for dusting!  In drier weather they use the flower beds and pots where there is more space.
You can almost hear them saying "you move, I was here first!"

[Fat Hen]

My girls dust bathe every day I'm fairly sure. It is very important for ridding themselves of parasites.

I would recommend  giving them a dust bath with some kind of shelter over it  to keep it dry if you can.  bit like a cloche for hens  

PS Try pixreizer to make you piccies smaller: http://www.photo-freeware.net/pixresizer.php or http://www.vodahost.com/pix.htm

The chucks have a large pot of sand in their covered run (the pot was there favourite place last summer), which i keep topping up with sand, but they still like their muddy wallow, which especially Sarah uses daily.  I'm sure my chucks are bonkers.