[Mitsy]

When we went to see some chickens at the weekend they had a dust bath. What is it and is it essential? :?

Thank you  

Michelle

[Aunt Sally]

Absolutly essential misty  :!:

You can use many things in a dust bath.  Just needs to be fairly dry:  

Builders sand
Old clean compost
Bonfire Ash (No nails)

I use compost and sand mixture and add diatom to it to help to prevent lice and mites.

[GrannieAnnie]

Chickens dust bath to help clean themselves and to help get ird of unwanted parasites on their bodies.  I think it can help them cool down in the heat too, as chooks don't sweat like we do.  

Was this a manmade dustbath you saw?  Our chooks just scratch themselves a nice little bump in the ground and scratch and dust themselves until the little bump is a great big crater!  When they are hot you will also see them fan their wings out to keep cool too, but they can suffer a lot from heat stress in hot summers.  Commercial chicken sheds have big fans up in the gable end walls to keep them at a constant temperature.

[Mitsy]

Thank you!

Another thing to add to my shopping list  

Michelle

[Mitsy]

Absolutly essential misty  :!:

You can use many things in a dust bath.  Just needs to be fairly dry:  

Builders sand
Old clean compost
Bonfire Ash (No nails)

I use compost and sand mixture and add diatom to it to help to prevent lice and mites.

Think I may have bought the wrong powder I got Barrier Louse Powder  :oops:

I need some wormer any way so will get some diatom at the same time. Where is best to get them from?

[Aunt Sally]

Don't get diatom just because I use it.  Barrier red mite powder and louse power are good and you can use it to dust the hens and their accomodation, and add to their dustbath.  It's herbal and organic.

[Mitsy]

Ah but I just read that diatom can be used for a wormer too  

Is that right?

[Aunt Sally]

Some people say it can be used for worming by adding it to the feed.  I wouldn't use it myself and prefere to worm every 3-6 months with flubenvet  :!:

[Mitsy]

Thank you. I will have a look for that

Michelle

[slowef]

Let them free range they quickly make a dust bath usually in the middle of your best flower bed :?  

I have a cat litter tray (bought for them not used by cats) and fill that but they prefer their one of their own making.  I have shavings on an earth floor and they even bath in that.

[GrannieAnnie]

Mine have their grit and oyster shell in a washing up bowl, but they use that as a dust bath and loo too, so I add it to their feed now.

[Mitsy]

My hubby gets rather possesive about his grass. Can see that being fun  

The veg and flowers are all my work thankfully  

Michelle

[Oliveview]

My hens have made a few dust baths in their outside run, one being just inside the gate, so if you go in ay night (if I am late putting them away) and it is dark you could break your neck!!  I´ve had to put a brick at the side of one dust bath place, they had almost excavated under the wall into the campo!
PAmela (in Spain)