ajm200 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Hi, My 5 girls have been confined to their run since they arrived so I've given them large cat litter tray to scratch and bathe in. I know that chickens won't eat a lot of food before they start laying and they are supposed to eat a certain amount of soil and grit. The problem is they've hardly touched their food and seem to be more interested in pecking at the compost in their dustbath. 5 hens share a large cat litter tray full of compost and sand and they've have emptied it every day but only small amount ends up visible in the run so I'm starting to wonder if they are eating too much of it and it might not be good for them. They also have a container of grit but aren't interested in it at all. I would like to leave a dustbath for them as they will be stuck in the run for a week or two until we can get our fence replaced - It broke the day before the chickens arrived Am I worrying unneccessarily? Should I just chill out and leave them to it? They seem pretty chilled out - I found 4 of them 'stacked' in the nestbox last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe don't replenish the dustbath if you are concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I keep a plastic tub filled with earth in their run and lots of it dissappears quite quickly. They dustbathe and flick the earth with their feet and it mingles in with the Aubiose on their run floor and you can't really see the split stuff. I wouldn't worry too much, they know what they are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I just mix the grit in with the food, like if I give them sweet corn i sprinkle it on i tend to find they dont eat it on its own they need some convincing you could sprinkle some food in the dustbath maybe they will get the idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Mine do the same, especially when they were new arrivals, they just wanted to taste everything to see what was edible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...