A Chicken Dust Bath: All Your Questions Answered
While caring for backyard chickens is pretty simple, it’s important to ensure they stay clean. A chicken dust bath is their way of cleaning up, and it helps keep mites and lice away.
If you’re a new or soon-to-be chicken keeper, you might be wondering if chickens really bathe in dust. Yes, unlike a traditional bath, chickens do freshen up with dust and dirt. And, most of the time, they love this!
Let’s take a look at how to bathe a chicken, and we’ll share more answers to common questions chicken owners have about a chicken dust bath!
How to Bathe a Chicken
If you already have backyard chickens, you’ve probably seen them coating themselves in dust and dirt. That’s because they actually love a dust bath the same way we enjoy a nice, warm shower! Not only does a dust bath clean chickens up by removing excess oil and loose feathers, but it also keeps pesky parasites away.
Most chicken keepers prefer to create a DIY dust bath for their flock. Otherwise, your chickens will find an area in the yard and make their own bath wherever they can find loose soil.
While there are several ways to go about creating a bath, we’ll share 5 simple steps and a chicken dust bath recipe.
What you’ll need:
- A container
- 1 part soil and 1 part dust ash (preferably) or Diatomaceous Earth
- Dried herbs (optional)
- A cover for your dust bath
Step 1: Get a Container
You’ll need a low container that your chickens can climb in and out of. With that said, you also want it to be tall enough to hold the dust bath ingredients.
Good containers can be a plastic bin or a kiddie pool.
Step 2: Add Dirt
You’ll want to add a fine, loose soil or sand that can really get into the feathers. Feel free to use whatever is available to you, but you’ll want to avoid clay in the dirt. You can also do a sand and soil mixture.
Step 3: Add Dust Ash
Your chicken dust bath should have half dirt, and half dust ash or Diatomaceous Earth (DE). Both of these are a powdery substances your chickens can coat on their feathers with the soil to keep parasites away.
We recommend using dust ash if you can because DE is known to cause respiratory issues. You can get dust ash from a wood stove or fire pit. Any dust ash will work as long as it’s not hot. If there are chunks of charcoal in it, that’s okay as it won’t cause harm to your flock.
Step 4: Add Herbs (Optional)
Adding some dried herbs like lavender or mint to the bath is just a bonus – like a spa treatment! It’s not necessary, but it can be a nice touch. It smells nice, and it also acts as a natural insecticide.
Step 5: Cover the Bath to Keep Dry
It’s not a bad idea to keep your chicken bath dry since a wet chicken dust bath can clump together and not be as effective or enjoyable. You can cover the bath with a tarp or keep it under a covered chicken run, that way the chickens can access it when they want.
Bathing Chickens FAQ
While bathing chickens really is that easy, you might have a few more questions! Here are some answers to common dust bath questions.
Do I Need to Bathe My Chickens?
Yes! While some people choose to bathe chickens in the sink, this isn’t something you have to do. However, you should allow them to bathe themselves in a dust bath. Whether you prepare one for them or not, they’ll probably do it anyway in your backyard.
Dust baths are essential because they keep parasites away, which is critical as they can cause common chicken illnesses.
What Do You Put in a Chicken Dust Bath?
While dust baths can be made with different ingredients, we recommend dirt, wood ash, and herbs.
How Often Should Chickens Dust Bath?
If a dust bath is available, your chickens will probably use it daily or every other day. So, it’s best to uncover it every day for them or have it under a cover where they can still access it. You should refresh the dust bath every few weeks or so.
Why Won’t My Chickens Dust Bath?
Chickens usually love a dust bath, so there could be a problem if they aren’t using it. Maybe the dust bath is wet. Refresh the ingredients to see if that solves the problem. You can also try moving the bath to a sunny spot. And, training them with some treats always helps!
What About Winter Dust Baths?
If you live somewhere that gets really cold and snows in winter, dust baths can be a little more tricky. However, a few simple steps can help you maintain a dust bath for chickens in winter.
You can winter-proof your dust bath bin by using a plastic bin that also has a lid that fits tightly. This way, you can uncover it during the warmer parts of the day when it’s not precipitating and cover it back up when you need to. You can also place a dust bath in the chicken coop or run – just make sure it’s high enough that bedding doesn’t get into it.
We hope this guide has helped you understand everything you need to know about a chicken dust bath! If you’re interested in learning more about chicken care, check out this guide on how to raise chickens.
