4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Mutrix Farmers]

Can anyone advise about the use of dust baths in an Eglu run? We work 9-5 so our girls will be confined to the run during the day. The run will be sited on grass that hopefully won't become a "mud run" as we intend to move it around the garden. I know dust bathing is important for the birds, but don't really know how to provide it. Should it be an open shallow tray or an enclosed box? What dust is best? Can I use sand-pit sand? Help!!

[chelsea]

cat litter tray, shallow tubtrug, large seed tray, grow bag tray, anything you can find along these lines are great.

 

They do need a dustbath, you can fill it with compost, playsand, garden dirt, or ash from you fire or a mixture of them all

Edited April 13, 2008 by Guest

[Jules.]

I'm going to use an old washing-up bowl.

Play sand is fine, perhaps mix it with some compost & some Diatom.

Do you have a run cover- if not then you will need to have a covered dustbath box so as not to turn it into a mud-bath

[Stevie]

Normal garden soil is fine-just add some Diatom for good measure! Run it through a gardeners sieve first if its lumpy,but chooks soon pulverise it!

[ajm200]

Mine think that the dustbath is a different form of treat bowl and eat the soil. They rarely use it for the intended purpose.

 

They prefer the compost heap or the grass that I rake up when I'm cleaning up after them - I suspect that they are slightly mad

[superjules]

I've got a shallow tubtrug that 3 can fit in at the same time and a 13" diameter plant pot that they have to form a not-so-orderly queue for! Both are filled with a mix of silver sand, fine compost, and diatom. Mine do sometimes eat the contents too. If you use sand, it mustn't be builders sand, but you probably already know that. Play sand is ideal.

[Mutrix Farmers]

thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions. A covered dust bath it is with a mixture of things in it. Just got to locate or make one now. We have a cover but living by the seaside the wind blows the rain all over the place!

 

What is diatom and where can I get it?

[GEB]

I used a large cat litter tray with a mix of compost, play sand and red mite powder. They ate the lot

They have never bathed in it, but I still fill it up as they seem to love scratching in it and eating it.

[Hen Watch]

Hi, I have a shower curtain over my eglu run held down with bungee cord. It keeps their dustbath dry. I have an old plastic tub with greenhouse mud in it and a dash of Diatom.

 

Diatom (Diatomaceous Earth) – natural product. Add it to their food (for internal worms), shake it on their feathers (for lice etc), add some to their dust bath, sprinkle it in their housing.

 

Buy Diatom from the Omlet Shop or from

 

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk

[Scotty]

Gosh I didn't know you can add this to thier food - what a great tip!

 

"Diatom (Diatomaceous Earth) – natural product. Add it to their food (for internal worms), shake it on their feathers (for lice etc), add some to their dust bath, sprinkle it in their housing."

 

Thanks for that. We have a washing up bowl with earth and wood ash and the Diatom of course, but they prefer the compost heap in the corner of the garden...

[HENthusiastic]

I built mine a special little area in the corner of their coop, sectioned off by a very short wooden fence, filled it with play sand. They walk across it..... thats about all...... oh and the neibours cat went in there once when they were freeranging and had a good old roll around Daft thing is, that when that corner of their coop was filled with potting compost they all dust bathed in it! It looked really funny coz it was all big clumps of soil on their backs. So I thought I was doing them a favour by turing it into a 'proper' dust bath..... I should have left well alone! Havent seen them dust bath anywhere since I changed it.

[FruitandNutCake]

Hi Mutrix Farmers

 

You're a couple of miles away from me! Do you have any chickens yet?