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

[JanTheDiver]

As some of you will have read, I have had my girls for nearly two weeks now. Twice I have put a cat litter tray of soil, play sand and diatom in their run and both times they have eaten the lot.

 

They obviously are trying to dust bath as they are just doing this in the bottom of the run in the elephant grass, but they won't use what I give them.

 

Has anyone else had problems with young birds, or old ones for that matter, doing this? The youngest ones are 18 weeks and the rest are a few weeks older, if that makes any difference.

 

I know eating it won't hurt them, but I am concerned they are not getting enough out of dust bathing in the elephant grass.

 

Jan

[chick wiggle]

Maybe a litter tray isnt deep enough? we use a trug and an old car tyre and the girls love them both. Maybe they just have to get used to it. It took my girls a while to trust the scary looking black thing with soil in it

[xScrunchee]

Do they have access to grit? (Oyster shell and flint)

 

If it's not the grit they are after then maybe they are tipping it out when you are not looking?

 

Failing that I have no idea why they would eat it all.

 

Even if it's not deep enough for them-why would they eat the whole lot?

 

Chcikens are strange things sometimes

[JanTheDiver]

They don't have grit as I was told it was in the layers pellets I give them. But I am thinking that I will give them some as this is the only conclusion I could come to as to why they were eating it.

 

Thanks for your help

 

Jan

[xScrunchee]

Must be that then

 

Even though people say that there is grit in the pellets I bet it's only a tiny amount

[beulah59]

Yoda - ex-batt with us two weeks today - spent most of yesterday evening digging a dustbath in the run right next to the dustbath I'd provided, then sat in it, eating the sand from my dustbath (a sawn off plastic dustbin base - I'm using the top half as a potato tub!) ... why?!

[Hen Watch]

Jan, my lot have mixed poultry grit in a pot permanently in the run, but are currently ignoring it. They eat more of it in the winter when they free range less. But still good idea to get some.

 

Have you actually seen them eating the dust bath contents? I only say this because when I top mine up with fresh earth, my lot dive in, dustbathe and flick the entire contents over themselves and out of the dustbath and it ends up mixed in with the Auboise bedding on the run floor so I can hardly see it.

 

But if they are eating it, it may just be curiosity and they'll stop soon. Wouldn't worry too much.

[sandyhas3chucks]

read someplace that sand if they eat lots of it, is bad for them