AmberSky Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 I want to make another dust bath, i did have one made from a old drawer but it has gone rotten so was bidding on a belfast sink but lost the aution, what does everone else use for a dust bath? My girls have made themselves some holes under my daughters trampoline, but i need to make them a proper dust bath with some sand and diatom earth in as they have got lice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Large Shallow Tubtrug with dry mud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 A cat litter tray filled with dry compost of wood ash works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I started with an old wooden wine box, made nice and smooth with an opening cut in one side so that it looks a bit like a dog bed. In that I tried putting Chinchilla sand (chooks did not once set foot in it), builder's sand (again chicks did not like it but perhaps it was a bit sharp), play sand (no better reception) and then compost (a few scratches but after that no further interest at all). I've moved it to a sunny spot, to a spot under a minitature apple tree and to a spot under the overhang of the egg laying bit of their house. No takers. Finally I put straw in it and now my Jack Russell sits in it but no chicks The truth is that my chooks just love to make their own smooth, oval craters around the back of the flowerbeds - a different one each day. I think they could be said to 'rule the roost' in this house. But I love the pics of all the chicks in the plastic bucket thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Big tub truggs. Old tires. 1 thing my pekins love is i put a really thick layer of bark edged it with wood so it was piled up then carved a hole out in the bark and filled it with soil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I have a shallow flexitub as well, filled with a mixture of playsand and dry soil. They seem to like it and scratch in it but maybe they're not relaxed enough to have a proper roll in it just yet as we only got the chooks this week. They seem to think of the dustbath as a safe haven though, if there's rain, loud sounds or laundry flapping in the wind, the flexitub will be the safest hiding place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelurch Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I use a Belfast sink and put in a mix of dry compost and playsand. The girls love it, sometimes 3 at a time and they also use the rim as a perch when they want a chin wag! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 How do people stop their dust baths becoming mud baths in the rain and not drying out for days at time so that even on sunny days like today they are still grim. My white silkie, Doodle, is making herself very grubby indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Large Shallow Tubtrug with dry mud. Awww what a fab idea Mollie...... lovely pictures too xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I think they could be said to 'rule the roost' in this house. love it Reesc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Thanks! Can't belive how small Biscuit the turkey was then! Theres me thinking she hasn't grown! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I've noticed our Dottie seems to like nothing more than jumping into our decking tubs and scrambling away with the compost! Whereas Cottie loves nothing more than digging under the trees! I haven't made a specific dustbath as such for them yet as they seem to make their own dotted around the garden - but I've got some lovely ideas from here thank you! They're so funny when they're doing their dustbath aren't they - I could watch them for hours! It's been lovely here today and our girls are currently doing that sweet little lying down but digging manouvre under a tree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Haha, It was really foggy this morning, and the Polands were wondering what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Haha, It was really foggy this morning, and the Polands were wondering what it was. awww bless 'um! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 ... They are lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Millies Chicken Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I use an old plastic dog basket which my neigbour was throwing away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmberSky Posted October 8, 2010 Author Share Posted October 8, 2010 Update Thanks everyone for your lovely pictures and comments and after days of trawling ebay and freecycle, i remembered i had an old tin bucket in the loft. Unfortunately it is too small but on the way back from the loft i found a old underbed plastic storage box that i had forgot about Doh! So that's my lunchtime project, hopefully the fog will have cleared by then and it will be a bit warmer. I have builders sand and Diatom, do you think i should put compost in as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 My girls dig their own dustbath(s!), although last winter I did provide them with a gravel tray filled with compost/topsoil. I would really recommend that if your girls have lice you treat them with a product such as Johnsons Anti Mite Spray (48 hour egg withdrawal applies). The dustbath will be great for helping prevent future reinfestations though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelurch Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 How do people stop their dust baths becoming mud baths in the rain and not drying out for days at time so that even on sunny days like today they are still grim. My white silkie, Doodle, is making herself very grubby indeed. Mine is in a fully covered WIR so stays bone dry and "dusty" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenlegs Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Hi, I use an old car tyre, quite a large one half filled with compost, sand and diatom. It was viewed with great suspicision originally but now it can and does accommodate two chickens at once, or they sit on the edge and watch the world go by. You can get them for free from garages etc and helps recycle what is a very difficult product to dispose of. Regards Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodinparts Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Reading this thread finally inspired me to put an old cat litter tray in the run, filled with a mix of wood ash, silver sand & some diatom powder....The girls eyed it with suspicion but I left them to it, & when I next looked 1 was perched on the side of it, watching the other two dust bathing - in the lovely dusty hollow they'd made themselves. Honestly! What are they like?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie7 Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I use an old plastic dog basket which my neigbour was throwing away. Large Shallow Tubtrug with dry mud. What do you do when it rains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windway Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I use a trug with play sand and some soil from the garden. It took them almost two weeks to work it out but we got there in the end. How much Diatom do you add to the sand? I have no idea! Any info would be good - thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmberSky Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 I bought a massive tub from ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230531703337#ht_5856wt_1134 and just put a good amount on top of the sand and just waiting for my girls to mix it in, they still prefere the holes they made under the trampoline! Sure that dont help much er i would say at least 3-4lb of diatom on top. The delivery was mega fast by courier and it came well packed in a large box. i still have loads left to dust the birds, now and in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BocBoc Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Great thread - love the pics of the dust baths in action! Our girls have taken over a flower bed (flowers LONG gone) which has got the finest soil in it. It's covered over by our old plastic table - it wasn't intentional, we just moved it when we had a patio laid and it kind of stayed there. It's a great shelter!! However....new garden time so new dust bath time. I may well try the Belfast sink idea...or one of the others....so thanks for the suggestions!! (Thread ideas hi-jacked!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
