Unusual Hen Behaviour.

[woodruffsdad]

Today I gave the hen house and run a thorough clean out.

I raked out the run and put down a layer of Aubiose with wood shavings and straw on top.

The hens snuggled down in the wood shavings and Aubiose in the run and began to roll in it and to scratch the material under their feathers and all over themselves. They looked blissfully happy!

What is the purpose of this?

I can only guess that it's some form of cleansing - maybe using the fibrous material to remove parasites etc. but I could be very wrong.

Any ideas please?

 

[Marigold]

They're just dustbathing. I guess. Do they have a separate dustbath filled with sand, dry earth, wood ash etc? They get great pleasure from digging into this dusty bath and work the grains of dust right into their feathers and then stand up and have a good shake. It helps clean their feathers, sort of dry shampoo, and also removes parasites, as you've guessed. You can add redmite powder, louse powder or diatomaceous earth to the top layer and they will do a better job of getting it right down into their plumage that you could manage by dusting them yourself. Yes, mine like digging in piles of Aubiose, though they do prefer their proper dustbath, especially when I've newly topped it up.
You need a good big deep container for the dustbath - I use the base stand to a large water butt, upside down to make a deep circular container. It needs to be at least 10-12 ins deep or all the compost gets scattered when they dig and shake themselves. Its great fun watching them, they really go to town and enjoy themselves.

 

[woodruffsdad]

Thank you Marigold.