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

[Ange1]

Do you have a dust bath in your run?

 

My girls have almost eaten two cat litter trays full!!!!!

 

I'm thinking of taking it out, as I worry that they are filling their tummies up on sand!?

 

It's only week one but they seem to prefer the play sand and red mite powder mix to the pellets, more so since I've added garlic and tried mixing pellet sorts (see post below)

 

They free range for the afternoons though they're not interested in dustbathing when in the garden and during this week I've only see two hens use the dustbath!

 

Not confident about dusting the girls by hand, which is the alternative?!

 

What would you do?!

[Stevie]

I tried,but they completely emptied it within couple of hours.Now i just let them dust bathe under shrubs etc in borders which they lurve!

[xScrunchee]

I have a walk in run and I do have a dustbath in there for them even though some days they tip it all over within 30 minutes

 

If you think that they are eating too much of the sand maybe put it in for a few hours every other day?

If mine go a day or two without their dustbath, when I do put it in they go crazy and all squeeze in it

[moomin]

Mine do peck at it but they also use it most days to bathe in - they really like it. The contents go everywhere I have to top it up most weeks

 

Make sure to use half compost (any old potting compost will do even last years pot contents) and half play sand - plus a good sprinkling of red mite powder/diatomous earth to keep the beasties at bay

[Egluntyne]

I have a walk in run, with a shallow Tubtrug full of compost as a dust bath.

[Ange1]

Ah thanks Egluntine, is yours just compost then, maybe that would be better?

 

I wondered whether they were eating the sand like grit (which they have separate) so could compost be better then?

[Egluntyne]

They use it a lot, having ignored other offerings in the past.

 

Some of it does get tipped out.

 

I add a bit of diatom to it too.

[frenchlayer]

Mine is a mix of compost, sand and mite powder, and they do seem to eat most of it, and dust bath else where.

 

 

I would have thought that they eat what they need so if they are eating loads of sand it's because they feel they need?

[chelsea]

my lot also ate their dustbath, so i took it out. Im fortunate that my girls do free range the majority of the time so they dustbathe in my borders

[Hen Watch]

My lot have normal, dry garden earth in their dust bath. They don't eat it.

[choppish]

mine dustbath right in front of the eglu door. they dig dow nthrough the wood chips to the soil beneath and sutbath there. throwing everything through the open door of the eglu.

 

the next day it gets filled in by their general scratching around and they dig another.

 

always before 10am...!

[Jane 20]

We have quite a large dust bath - 2' x 3' in our walkin run. We put a mixture of compost and ordinary earth in, the girls all use it and it does mean a few less craters in the garden.

[The Dogmother]

Mine have a vintage enamelled basin, which I fill with compost, ash from the stove and Diatom, it all seems to be kicked out within hors though

[Valkyrie]

I put a big green tub trug in our cube run - admittedly there wasn't much room left, but the girls like nestling in it to shelter from the wind. When OH moved the run, he forgot about the tub and it tipped out all over the grass.

I put some bagged topsoil in with some compost plus all sorts of mite and lice powder. Just received some Diatom, so that will go in for good measure. It all smells lovely - eucalyptus springs to mind! The other day when the girls were out and about (not dodging the rain), the dust bath was outside the run and the two biggest ladies were flapping the stuff all over the side. The smallest girl wanted some of the action, but couldn't get in, so she kept running around outside the tub for ages, then laid down at the side, poor thing.