what is the best commercial dirt to use for chicken dust baths
What is a Chicken Dust Bathroom?
If you lot've ever stopped to sentry your backyard chickens, you will notice that they will frequently glaze their feathers in dust and clay, and they announced to delight in doing so. Your first instinct might be nooooo! Y'all are getting so dirty (and creating a huge mess); yet as I volition explain, this chicken behaviour is non only enjoyable for them, information technology is your craven's way of keeping themselves clean.
While this bathing method seems anarchistic to us, information technology is quite useful and effective. The dust not only helps to remove backlog oil, information technology also makes their bodies less desirable for parasites such every bit lice and mites to thrive on.
This innate behaviour is not sectional to chickens. Many other birds and also mammals partake in dust bathing to keep their blanket fresh and clean.
How chickens bathe in dust
Not merely do chickens love a good dust bath, merely they besides love to practice it with the residual of the flock. If one hen starts scratching, wriggling and flapping in the dirt, she volition most likely be quickly joined by other hens in the bathing session. Not only do they bathe for hygiene, just it's also a great fourth dimension to socialise!
Chickens will scratch out a dusty or dirty place in either the garden or what once was your lawn until they have an indentation that is at least their trunk size. Once they are happy with their bath, they volition crouch down into the dust and scratch at the soil and flap their wings. You will even run into them jerk in the clay as they endeavour to go a good thorough make clean in and among their fluffed up feathers.
In one case satisfied they will start preening their feathers using their beak. They will polish the oil secreted from a gland at the base of their tail over their feathers and remove feathers.
Dust Bath and Parasites
Unfortunately, backyard chickens and their coop are highly susceptible to both lice and mites. Not only tin these parasites crusade your feathered friend cracking discomfort, they tin also be the source of malnutrition and illness.
Dust helps to control parasites by making a chickens body less habitable. Dusty feathers take the ability to congest a mite'southward upwardly a airways and pores.
As a backyard chicken owner, it is crucial to encourage dust bathing as role of your coop management and hygiene programme.
If y'all are concerned about parasites, read up up the symptoms of parasites
Chickens are well and truly able to make their ain dust bathroom. They love making their dust bath in the craven run. Withal, you tin add a few things to the bath that will help go along parasites at bay and ensure a thorough clean.
Too, if yous would prefer that they didn't scratch in and effectually your garden, yous tin can make a grit bath for your backyard chickens. Using a wading pool, an erstwhile crate or trough, yous can create a bath of their dreams.
Chicken Grit Bath Recipe
- Dig a hole approx. 60cm in diameter and approx. 20cm in depth. You can make it wider if you wish and insert a plastic childs wading puddle to hold y'all dust bath mixture. If you use the wading pool idea it also makes it easy to change empty and change the dust bath when required.
- Add some fine clay or sand
For a thorough clean, chickens crave pulverization-like dirt to get in and among their feathers. The fine dust is easy to scratch up and fluff nether their wings
- Add Diatomaceous World
Pronounced DIE-A-TOE-MAY-SHUS; Diatomaceous World adds an extra layer of protection against lice and mites. This well-known insecticide is entirely natural, made from fossilised remains of algae.
- Add forest ash to the dust bathroom Forest ash or ash from a fireplace tin be a good contribution to your chicken's grit bath, adding vitamins such as vitamin One thousand, calcium and magnesium to their cleaning ritual. The charcoal in the ash helps to absorb toxins inside the chickens body and on their feathers. Note: if using ash from a fire exist certain that it does not comprise any low-cal fluid or chemicals
- Add some fragrant herbs
Herbs such as lavander, mint and rosemary not only make your chickens smell lovely, they are also comprise natural insecticides.
Only sprinkle the herbs in the dirt where your chickens bathe - Cover the bath
A dust bath works best when the dust is bone-dry, and is not clumping. Add an umbrella, tent or tarp over the grit bathroom when it is raining volition ensure your hens can become muddy when they need to
Other related articles:
Why do chickens scratch the footing?
What is a chicken run?
Craven Coop Lice and Mite Treatment
Related Products
David Gray's Poultry Grit
Source: https://www.dineachook.com.au/blog/what-is-a-chicken-dust-bath-easy-steps-to-make-one/
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