farrowy Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 I made my girls a dust bath using an old washing up bowl - but they seem to prefer standing in it and eating the dirt???!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Searching for worms? Tasty insects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xChicken04x Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 mine always do that with their sand, i think its extra grit for them. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farrowy Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 chickens are brilliant!!! You can totally see their individual personalities now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 I made one last year with playsand - they ate that. They eat all the compost out the top of my potted plants naughty little minxsters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Do you need to provide a dust bath if your chooks don't free range? What kind of thing should I put in the run - container/dust?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 I only made my dust bath yesterday, but I put play sand in it (sorry, Ethan) and some earth. I plan to put some Diatom in it when I buy some. I got a low toy box/storage box with a lid from a bargain shop, it cost £2.50 but now I wish I had bought one slightly bigger. As my girls are out of the run most odf the day I have put the box outside of it, & as it has a lid I can close it off at night/when it rains. If you will be having your dust bath in the run then some Omleteers have used old flower pots, cat litter trays, washing-up bowls, anything really that your hens can get into. Be inventive! The washing-up bowl I was going to buy was red to match my Eglu- I also have a red plastic dog bowl which I use for their treats- the chooks go wild when they see my coming to them with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yup, they just seem to eat the sand I put in! Had 3 soft shelled eggs in a row from one of them too - it all seemed so easy the first few days - what's going on ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost-sheep Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 at least ur chooks were interested... when we made ours they dust bathed in the grass next to it... they also used it as alitter tray!!! ewww.... dirty ungrateful girls!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 They're so clever aren't they?! (we have a cat called Ziggy too! Got him from a cat rescue on Saturday) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilly Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yep, mine ate the playsand and use it as a litter tray too!! .They:ve decided to try to unearth a viburnum as a dust bath instead!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeymerKim Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 I had a fairly shallow planter that I filled with Playsand and yes - they ate the lot! Their poos were really weird for the next couple of days - like little blocks of cement I've now filled a large flower pot with dry earth and a bit of sand and compost and every morning I can either see a head or a bum sticking out - with the others lining up waiting for their turn. They are so funny! KeymerKim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Mine's have eaten all their dust bath (mixture of play sand and compost) in a week! They also used it as a litter tray (it actually is a litter tray) and covered over their poos just like a cat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I ditched the cat litter tray I'd put in as a dustbath. They just make a hole wherever they fancy in the run and bathe in that . Jak, I wouldn't worry unless you get softies for more than say 4 days. Do you give them limestone flour? That can help shell hardness (although if the other hen is OK, it's obviously nothing you're doing wrong ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 It's bizarre but we get a run of about 2 weeks of perfectly fine eggs, then one of them will produce soft eggs for about 5 days. The other hen's eggs are absolutely fine - what's that about?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkybijou Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Ha ha, this post made me laugh! I didn't realise other people's chooks were just as stupid. I put in a load of bird sand (I think it's for canaries or something) which smelled of aniseed. They scoffed the lot! They much prefer to dig their own, which means we have lots of little chicken sized pot holes around the garden. Hey ho Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I'm a pedestrian who lugs back all food/necessities on foot. Made me feel like a right mug when my hens decided to eat rather than bathe in play sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Jak, do you provide your girls with ad lib access to oyster shell or mixed grit? They need the grit to help them digest food (as they have no teeth), and the Oyster Shell for calcium to help with forming eggshells. "Mixed Grit" usually contains both. If you are, and are still having softies, then perhaps you could try adding a small amount of Limestone Flour to their pellets. This is easily available from horsey shops/feed merchants and costs just a few pounds for a large tub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Yes, they have always had mixed grit added to their pellets (although they don't seem terribly keen!) It's just weird that one has reliably layed from the day we got her last year. Limestone flour might be worth a try - so I should be able to get it from the places that sell Hemcore then? I wondered if it was to do with what they eat when they freerange around the back garden ...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Yes, they have always had mixed grit added to their pellets (although they don't seem terribly keen!) Might be worthwhile having it in a pot separate form the pellets, then they can help themselves to it when they need it? I;m always amazed at how much mixed grit my girls eat. They eat less of it when they are out free ranging, as they eat stones from the garden instead! Yes, the places that sell Hemcore will also sell (or be ablt to get) Limestone flour. It's a really widely used horsey supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farrowy Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 Heh heh when my grls are in the run and I make them a dust bath they will eat, kick, poo, do anything in it - apart frm take a bath!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I've tried putting grit separately and they totally ignore it! As you say, they may be getting helpful stuff whilst in the garden Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
