Chicken Dust Baths- The Ultimate Spa Treatment

Few chicken activities are as entertaining to humans as the dust bath. To the uninitiated, stumbling upon a dust-bathing chicken can be alarming and is often mistaken for seizure activity or death. Prior to getting my first chickens, I had read about dust baths, so I was prepared for the sight and found it hilarious!  I still do. A dust bath is the chicken equivalent of a shower- it is both functional and recreational; they use dust baths to clean themselves, to relax, and to socialize. The fact that they are entertaining to us is a collateral benefit. 

Dig, snuggle into ditch, scoop with beak, toss into feathers, roll, repeat, shake.

WHAT IS A DUST BATH?

Chickens care for their feathers and skin by digging shallow ditches in soil, mulch, sand, even bedding, then tossing it onto themselves. The dirt coats their feathers and settles next to their skin, absorbing excess moisture and oil. It also serves to repel parasites that would otherwise set up housekeeping among the feathers, causing skin and feather damage, irritation, weight loss and interfere with egg production and fertility. 

In hot weather, chickens dig down into the ground to rest in cooler soil. 

At the end of a dust bath, the dirt is shaken off and the chicken proceeds to preen and groom its feathers back into place.

Shaking=dust cloud. <cough, cough>

Synchronized preening. 

From a very early age, chickens enjoy tossing bedding up into their feathers and settling down into the shallow ditches they have made. Baby chicks appreciate a sand box for this purpose, but will dust-bathe in pine shavings if sand is not made available. 

This is a baby quail. Quail enjoy dust baths as much as chickens!

Mulch beds are a favorite dust bathing location for my chickens. 

DUST-BATHING AREAS
When I was a new chicken-keeper, my chickens were confined to the run, which consisted of clay-laden earth that was much too dense for an enjoyable dust bath. I had read different suggestions for concocting dust baths that ran the gamut from sand to fireplace ash, road debris, peat moss, food grade diatomaceous earth and garden powder. I opted for plain, unadulterated, construction grade sand. The truth is: river sand or construction grade sand perform all of the functions chickens require, including parasite deterrence, there is no need for additives. The floor of my chicken runs are now at least a foot of sand and they dust-bathe in any number of locations from the run to the mulch beds.

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH OR NOT
I am often asked about the utility and safety of food grade, diatomaceous earth (DE) in dust bath areas and have come to the conclusion that, not only is it redundant and unnecessary, it is unhealthy for chickens' sensitive respiratory systems. Manufacturers recommend the use of respirators when using DE and my feeling is that if DE is bad for me to breathe, it is bad for my flock to breathe. The unproven theory behind the use of DE is that its sharp edges cut into the exoskeletons of insects, dehydrating and killing them and I do not want my chickens breathing a substance that could perform those functions in their lungs. For a deeper look at the subject of DE and opinions from two experts in the field of poultry keeping, a chicken veterinarian and Gail Damerow, read my blog article here. I do not use DE in dust-bathing areas.

My baby Polish Crested chickens, enjoying a nice, mulch dust bath. 

Winter dust bath in the sand, under the coop. As long as the sand stays dry, it will remain loose and good for dust-bathing all year.

Chickens that are free to range will select their own areas in which to dust-bathe. They will choose the driest, most dusty spot available. By far, mulch and sand are my flock's materials of choice. I long ago resigned myself to the fact that my chickens would scatter my mulch beds and dig up certain plants; that's their natural tendency and that's okay with me. 

Thank goodness for that third eyelid!

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This post is shared with: Homestead Barn Hop