[tracy66]

Hi

Another newbie question from us I'm afraid!!

We got a litter tray and filled it with sand for the girls to have a dust bath in and we put it in their run for them today (we only got them Friday so leaving it a week before we let them roam the garden) and all they did was peck and seemingly eat the sand no sign of them bathing in it! so after about half an hour we took it out as we weren't sure whether them eating the sand is bad for them?

We are just not sure whether to leave it in there all the time or only when we are there to keep an eye on them!

Thanks

[bexybeck]

Hi Tracy,
what is on the floor of the run? If it is earth they will make a dustbath themselves. If not, they'll wait the week and dig up your garden and make a dustbath out of that. Bless 'em. First time I saw one take a bath I thought it was in the throes of some almighty fit!

The thing with filling a litter tray with sand is that the local cats will probably use it! I know mine would I'd watch out for that.

Either way, I'm sure sand is fine and won't make them ill or anything - many people provide a sandbox for their hens to bathe in, we just don't bother because their run is (by now) just earth. Ours have two spots they use, one in the sun and one in the shade but they sorted that out themselves.

Bex

[tracy66]

Hi Bex

Many thanks for the reply

Our coop and run are on paving slabs with a covering of a couple of inches of straw all over(are going to try easibed when the straw is finished)

Our run is fully enclosed with roof so cat's wouldn't be able to get in and I've put the tray  back in the shed but I know what you mean!! We'll try again and see what happens

[Fisherman]

Try making a box about 600mm square by 150mm high and fill it about 100mm deep with a mixture of coarse sand, peat moss and soil. Old compost also works. Even though my birds run is on grass I use a dust box to help stop them digging the run up.

[hillfooter]

Dust bathing is so natural for birds that they will make their own so unless you definitely want to stop them doing that I wouldn't bother providing them with one which they will almost certainly reject if there's any other option to make their own.
HF

[alisonwo]

Have a look at this

[alisonwo]

I told them to use it one at a time, but would they listen  :blink:

[hillfooter]

I told them to use it one at a time, but would they listen  :blink:

Communial bathing saves dust
HF

[tracy66]

That picture is brilliant!!

Thanks for the reply's perhaps we'll let them get on with it then!!

[Squibbs]

I made mine a sand-box - they ignored it and carried on digging holes in the garden. One last year was so deep the chicken could stand up in it and not see over the top.

The other interesting thing was they god hold of my daughter's coloured play sand - that made for some interesting poos

[hillfooter]

A hen made dust bath (once part of the lawn)



Naughty naughty A lady surprised in her bath



HF

[bygrace]

alisonwo - natty green shallow trug! Where did you find that?

[geordiechick]

HI!
We tried a seed tray in the run but my chicks ignored it completely.  then they started using my veggie patch, which I wasn't so happy about.  So we simply cut down a plastic trug and put it in a slightly shady part of the garden under a tree (so it doesn't get too much rain), punched some holes in the bottom and filled it with sand and some old compost from some flower pots. 

We had to lift them into it a couple of times when they started bathing elsewhere int he garden.  Now 2 of the 3 girls love it.  The other one insists on making holes in the lawn!

Good luck!

[sheridan]

I've got a couple of old tyres filled with compost, sand, a few spadefuls of earth. They seem to like it.

[clairerey]

Bygrace- I have one of those for my ducks as a pond. I bought it from our local poultry farm shop.
claire x