Chicken boarders

[carrotspine]

Hi all

i got my lovely chickens on Saturday so 'm very new to all this, but they seem to be settling in ok. Already running to the gate when I go out into the garden or in the garage (where food and treats are kept!). However I have encountered a mucky problem. I put out a brand new litter tray filled with children's play sand for them to have a dust bath, when I got them. They started eating the sand and 'bathing' in the then very dry wood chip that we've put down in the run and the free ranging bit. This was obviously ok until the rain came. The sand was removed after my husband spotted one of them leaving a 'just sand' deposit. Now I have a problem, everywhere is wet through. we have the cover on the run, but still the ground is wet, and today (daft as I am) I put the gazeebo up to cover part of the free ranging area in the vain hope it would keep some of the rain out.

My Warren though was bathing in the very wet wood chip when I got home today and is now covered in mud and bark! On closer inspection the Bluebell looks pretty similar (my Sussex and Blackrock obviously have more sense!) I tried to pick bits out of the Warren's feathers and got a few until she got bored and ran off.

What do I do? Shall I just leave them to dry out on their own (they've been out all day in the rain, which doesn't seem to bother them and they've all layed an egg today)? Will they pick out the wood? What shall I do about a dust bath? What's the best thing to use that they won't eat. I was told play sand is good as it's non toxic but I didn't think they would eat quite so much!

I know this is probably a very minor issue but being very new to this, I want to try and get things right for them

[good_egg]

Haha! Daft chickens. My lot seldom dust bath in the "right" place although Buffy will only bathe there so it might be she doesn't let the others! Mine is a trug full of easy chick (no guarantee about not eating) - its like really fine woodchip and I used to use it on the whole run which the girls loved! Doesn't do well in wet though. As for dirty hens I would leave them and see if they clean themselves - mine usually do! If not you can bathe them - warm water and baby shampoo, but do it on a warm day or e prepared to use a hair dryer!

[carrotspine]

Thanks good egg. Is a trug one of those flexible plastic bag things? Or am I being a bit dim? Also where do you get essy chick from? Can you get it from regular pet shops or will on line be cheaper? You can tell I'm new, but once I've done it once I'll know for next time.

I've been watching Gin (the really mucky one) and she's been cleaning herself, although now distracted by one of my kids, they seem to be playing chase!

[Egluntyne]

I'd leave them to it. They aren't very good at playing tidily.

[mollyripkim]

Mine have claimed a trough planter filled with old compost which is in the garden so gets wet - you should see a white silkie after a dust bath Looks like she will never be clean but somehow a few hours later she is nice and white again. They also have a favourite place under a shrub so don't have an official dust bath as such.

[good_egg]

Trug is flexible rubber thing yes and easichick can be bought on omlet site... Although I just watched all of mine bathe in a flower bed very happily tonight!

[suebee]

Hi there. No matter how much dry soil there is in the garden, mine still choose to dustbathe in their shavings... and then come back outside and shake themselves all over the lawn

 

Just a thought... have yours got a supply of grit readily available to them? I wondered if a lack of this might explain their avid sand eating?

[carrotspine]

I've put some grit in the grub feeder, although I think it sinks to the bottom. Shall I give them grit in a separate container? I have grit, oyster shells and have roasted some egg shells for them. They seem to like strawberry plants too, we don't mind as we're not big gardeners, I keep tempting them with the leavesvwhen I need them to go in the run!

[suebee]

Yes, put the grit/shell in a seperate container. They will help themselves to it when required. They instinctively understand the need for it, and don't need it to be added to their feed to make them eat it. Mine have it in a pot, which I often see them dibbing into, but I also put it between the paving slabs in the garden outside their run, which they also seem to like.

[Sandychick]

They will clean themselves up ok Mud is something I've struggled with in the outside run. If it becomes a real problem, I used greenhouse shading (fine plastic mesh) as a base layer under the wood chip. It allows water to drain away, but the mud doesn't get mixed up with the woodchip. It's tough and doesn't seem effected by chickens scratching away at it all day. Newland grange poulty's website also has some good mud management advise.

 

I do like mine to have a nice dry dust bath in the run as they don't get much free ranging time beacause of foxes. I use a mix of playsand and compost and sometimes put some ash from the wood burner in there too. I've not seen them eat it though. I did struggle to keep the dust bath dry in really wet weather - they now have one of those cat litter trays with a hood which has been a real sucess and generally keeps the contents of the dust bath where it started .

[carrotspine]

I never thought of using a litter tray with a cover! I'll have think about the netting under the woodchip and see if my husbsnd will co-operate in the moving the woodchip to lay the mesh, mmm ...... The problem is our garden doesn't have any drainage so there's quite a lot of water that gathers. They are only allowed in the run and their bit of the garden which is fenced off and all of it is soil covered with wood chip. If they behave themselves and stop trying to eat me or escape over the fencing they will be allowed in the whole garden, which is patio and stones, no grass due to it being water logged all the time. For the time being though I'll get a covered litter tray and fill it compost and sand which may stop them eating it and it will stay dry. I'm wondering if they ate the sand as we only got them a week ago and they might have just tried eating everything while they were in a new place. They are settling in well though and all four lay an egg every day, which is nice. They did clean themselves up though after bathing in mud and yesterday helped to dry out their play area, I even put a ball in for them to kick, no interest yet!

Thanks for all your help, this forum is brilliant for beginners ss someone out there has an answer, thanks again everyone.