Tip Dust bath for chickens is good for their health

[Mark]

Here's a tip for backyard chicken owners to help keep their chickens happy and healthy:

Have a place in your pen or yard where your chickens can go for a dust bath. This can be as simple as a patch of dry dirt made naturally by the hens or purpose built like a sand pit with loose dirt/sand for the chickens to use.

Dust bathing helps the chickens naturally rid themselves of parasites like mites and lice. It also keeps their skin and feathers healthy plus dust bathing just makes them happy

In good weather, chickens will usually dust bath once a day for about 15-30 minutes. Chickens are well adapted to dust bathing; first, they will disturb the soil and rake it into a dusty hole then they will sit in the hole and roll whilst kicking and flicking the dust all over themselves - it's quite a site to see...

 

[stevo]

mine have got plenty of dirt that they dig holes and lie around in, but I've never seen them flick it over themselves, maybe I need to add some sand or more powdery dirt.

 

[Mark]

mine have got plenty of dirt that they dig holes and lie around in, but I've never seen them flick it over themselves, maybe I need to add some sand or more powdery dirt.

Your chickens may be happy enough to lie in the dust and roll around a little. Not all of mine are throwers some just like to sit in the dirt.

I used to have a container for my quails (like one of those kids small sandpit half shells) with sand in it for the birds to dust in - it worked well. Now my quail have a whole pen with sand on the bottom so I don't use a container anymore.

 

[Steve]

Great action photos there Mark. Nice work.
Can't wait till i can start my own poultry stock....one day.

 

[Mark]

Thanks mate! Looking forward to hearing alllllll about it when you do get into your own birds.