Dust Bath Help Please.

[woodruffsdad]

I want to get my hens a covered dust bath. They love rolling in the Aubiose I put down but it goes very soggy in this weather!

I have some questions:

1) I have found this inexpensive dustbath on eBay. What do you think? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261145413951?var=560222880399&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

2) What is the best dustbath material? I have heard that it should be dry garden compost, fine grit, sawdust etc. and I'm now confused!

3) What is the best dustbath structure, assuming that the eBay one above is not suitable?

 

[chrismahon]

All I can say is try one Woodruffsdad. It may get damp but the only way around that is a full shelter. They bath in almost anything loose. Dry soil normally, but kiln dried sand is good (used between the joints of block paving), perhaps some sawdust but it sticks in the plumage. I've seen a dustbath made simply of 4 planks nailed into a square. It doesn't need a bottom. Ours tend to communally dustbath, so they would need a metre square and at the moment go under the coops and use the dry soil there. I will add a little potash (wood burner ash) at some stage, because that is a preventative measure here for red mite, but it is too damp here now. A small dust bath may cause some squabbling but I'd just get one of these and try anyway. at least you can lift it up and put it away in very bad weather.

 

[woodruffsdad]

All I can say is try one Woodruffsdad. It may get damp but the only way around that is a full shelter. They bath in almost anything loose. Dry soil normally, but kiln dried sand is good (used between the joints of block paving), perhaps some sawdust but it sticks in the plumage. I've seen a dustbath made simply of 4 planks nailed into a square. It doesn't need a bottom. Ours tend to communally dustbath, so they would need a metre square and at the moment go under the coops and use the dry soil there. I will add a little potash (wood burner ash) at some stage, because that is a preventative measure here for red mite, but it is too damp here now. A small dust bath may cause some squabbling but I'd just get one of these and try anyway. at least you can lift it up and put it away in very bad weather.

Thank you. I only have 2 hens who are completely besotted with one another so I don't think squabbling would be a problem!

 

[elmdene]

I use a cat litter tray but it is under cover so doesn't get damp. If you got a big one it would probably fit 2 chickens together. They do tend to spray it everywhere though so the one you mention looks better in that respect, as long as it doesn't roll over when they are doing their acrobatics! Also I don't know how waterproof it would be anyway? I use mainly old growbag soil which I store in a bin so it stays dry and crumbly, plus some woodburner ash and a liberal sprinkling of diatom which I top up regularly. I was a bit concerned about the growbag soil initially in case it still had fertiliser in it (as they tend to nibble it a bit) but it doesn't seem to have done any harm. The diatom also comes with some fairly scary health warnings too, such as don't breath it in, but I use it a lot in the chicken house as well as the dustbath.

 

[Marigold]

It looks intriguing, but very pricey for what it is. I would advise getting a cheap, large, deep plastic box from Homebase or similar, at least 12-15 ins deep as they stand up and shake their feathers and in a shallower container the sand or compost gets scattered very fast. It doesn't matter if the box is lightweight when empty as the sand will weigh it down, but I think its best to get one with a rigid edge so they can jump up to perch on to it before jumping down in. I use an upturned plastic base from an old water butt, which is circular so quite nice for them.
I also use dried play sand in bags from Homebase, which is clean, non- staining, and cheap if on offer. You may need to dry it out a bit - best way is to process a few bags in the summer when you can spread it out on a tarpaulin in the sunshine to dry (do you remember sunshine?) I mix it with some old dry compost or earth, and a small amount of sieved wood ash from a garden fire, but not too much of this as it's very dusty and a bit greasy. Whenever I freshen up the dustbath contents I sprinkle some redmite powder in the top layer for them to work in.
The purpose of the 'dust', whatever it is, is to be fine enough to get right down into their feathers like a dry shampoo, which is why sawdust and Aubiose are less effective and satisfying for them. The area does need to be covered and waterproof and I don't think anything other than a proper roof would do the job effectively. It look s to me as if the rain would blow in to the one you linked to, whichever way the wind was blowing!

 

[BabyBantam]

I use a shallow but wide plastic trug, filled half full with sand, john innes no 2. With added diatom and lice powder. I also add wood ash, but not too much as it makes the girls sneeze a lot. It fits 2, with a nice perch height for the 3rd to stand an complain loudly until someone gets out. It's under the house, so stays dry and I use a cat litter shovel to sieve out any poo or auboise that gets into it.