It never ceases to amaze me how great my chickens are at digging holes! They love to scratch around, wiggle down and flap around the dirt To keep themselves clean, chickens take dust baths This summer, I’m working on making a dedicated area for my chickens’ dust bath I’ll keep you posted on if they actually use this area or if they continue to just dig dust baths wherever they want Haha!
Chickens Love a Bath
People mowing their lawn, tilling the garden, or doing almost any home or yard chore usually finish tired, hungry, and dirty Nothing’s quite as luxurious after a hard day’s work as a warm bath or sudsy shower to remove grime and relax taxed muscles
Chickens aren’t as lucky Like humans they work hard scratching the dirt for delicious bugs and seeds and giving their human owner a nearly daily nest gem……an egg Unfortunately, they can’t end the day’s labor with a bath or shower the way people can Yet, chickens are fastidious about body care and appreciate the opportunity to
The Perfect Dust Bath
Have you noticed your chickens laying around in a dusty spot, kicking dust all over themselves? Chickens love to roll around in the dirt and dust It may sounds backwards to ‘bathe’ in dust, but chickens have good reason for rolling around in the dirt When chickens cover themselves in dust, they are doing so in order to take care of their feathers and skin Chickens can easily become infested with external parasites like mites, fleas, ticks and other insects
Most of these insects prefer to hop onto patches of clean skin that they can easily gnaw through to get
Why Do Chickens Need Dust Baths ?
If you’ve kept chickens, you’ve almost certainly caught one mid dust bath: sprawled in a shallow pit of loose dirt, kicking soil all over itself, wings flapping, looking for all the world like something is terribly wrong The first time you see it, it can honestly look like your chicken is having a seizure Don’t worry It’s completely normal, and it’s a genuinely important part of your bird’s health Here’s why chickens need dust baths, what they actually do for a bird, and how to provide one if your flock can’t make its own