Dust Bath an All-Important Ritual for Chickens
Dust bath is one of nature’s ways of keeping your chickens clean and healthy, it is a special moment for chickens to socialize and relax.
Dust bath is an inborn instinct, all chickens start dust bath at an early age provided they are in the right environment and are provided with the right materials.
Just be sure to provide your chicks with pine shavings, dirt, sand, and a conducive environment for them. So they can have a proper bath.
group of chickens enjoying themselves
Chickens love enjoyment and a good environment, they will always look for the choicest place, with good shade, dry and cool environment with a good dust bath material i.e sand, or any good dust bathing material, that is free from any harmful material.
Chickens aren’t picky when it comes to dust bathing. They will literally bathe anywhere as long as there is dirt, bedding, wood ash, or sand.
Read also: How to Achieve Optimal Poultry Production with Good Deep Litter Management practice
While it may look weird and funny to you, dust bathing is also a very important ritual for chickens, serving the purpose of keeping their feathers clean and keeping them free of mites, lice, and other parasites.
Dust bathing in chickens is as important as, you taking your bath daily. It is a path of a health routine
When chickens start to feel a little bit dirty or gritty, they will dig a shallow ditch (in soil, mulch, sand, or other dry, loose materials), in which they will burrow and throw the dirt over themselves shaking their body and feathers vigorously.
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Providing the Right Environment for Your Chicken to Dust Bath
In other to allow your chickens to enjoy and partake in this all-important ritual of cleansing and keeping themselves healthy.
You need to provide them with good space with a naturally dry environment with the following material
Sand, wood shavings materials. The most important thing is that chickens will always dig out the appropriate material they need for a dust bath.
Your own part is to ensure that you provide the right material and a conducive environment for them with the right temperature.
Away from any external stressors or harmful substances and predators that may hamper this natural behavior.
