Chickens are very clean animals and like to use a so-called dust bath, also known as a sand bath, for daily cleaning.
A dust bath has several advantages for your chickens. Not only is it a lot of fun for the chickens, but it is also ideal for caring for their skin and feathers.
What exactly is a dust or sand bath?
If you watch the chickens, you may have seen them throw themselves into the dirt or sand, roll around in it and then shake it with their feathers spread out. This is exactly what chickens call sand bathing. This contributes to the well-being of the animals, but also has a positive effect on their plumage.
What does an ideal sand bath look like?
There should be a dust bath / sand bath in every chicken coop or run.
If the run is large enough, you can create this directly without many accessories. Simply create a hole with a maximum depth of 30 - 40 centimeters and a diameter of approx. 80 - 130 centimeters.
If necessary, this hole can be lined with a thicker foil or filled directly with zeolite poultry litter.
Alternatively, you can also make your own chicken bath for the chickens; there are many different options for this.
- Sandpit
- weatherproof crate
- Large plant pots
- Old car tires
- plastic tubs
There are actually many different options here and you can adapt them to the conditions in the run according to your wishes.
Where should the dust bath be placed?
The dust bath should be accessible to the chickens all year round, so a suitable location is very important here. Ideally, the sand bath should be protected from rain and wind. For example, under a canopy, with its own small roof or directly in the chicken coop. This will protect the sand bath and provide your chickens with the perfect place for a meaningful activity and to clean their feathers and skin.
What do you fill the sand bath with?
The contents are very important, as they should be made of high-quality and very fine-grained material. There are now special clean baths just for chickens.
Our AniForte® dust bath for chickens and poultry is ideal for skin and plumage care. It adheres to the plumage and foot pads so that the animals spread it around the coop and, as an additional side effect, parasites in the environment are combated. The high-quality poultry litter is made from the natural rock powder zeolite.
What else is there to consider?
In order to offer the chickens a perfect bathing experience, you should clean the sand or dust bath regularly and remove any impurities. You can reuse theAniForte® dust bath as a composting aid or natural fertilizer, for example.
Treat your chickens to some wellness and provide them with a great dust bath.
