Dust bath and run

[CrystalMosko]

Hello everyone! We just finished our chicken run yesterday! Whooohoooo!! It's 10x24 and is covered with the same metal panels as the shed. I'm trying to figure out what to use for a dust bath and for the floor of the run. We are in the Pacific Northwest and the ground is currently wet (and probably will be wet until spring). Unfortunately where we are we also have quite a bit of clay. So, with things wet and with the clay, what can I use for my 9 girls? I do have a small kiddie pool I can put in there once I figure out what to put in it. We have a maple tree that is dropping all it's leaves now, so I can probably rake those and put them in the floor of the run. Ideas? I wish I would have thought ahead and grabbed some of the soil in the area they were using, but it is so wet now, I can't. Please help. =)

 

[DobieLover]

Can you still buy cheap bagged soil from any of the local home improvement stores? If so, use that. You can also add wood ash from a stove and peat moss to lighten it up.
Once the soil dries out they will still dig in the clay to make their own baths. Mine do in our hard packed clay.
Dumping in a bunch of dry leave would be great as is adding in wood chips if you have access to any.

 

[CrystalMosko]

Can you still buy cheap bagged soil from any of the local home improvement stores? If so, use that. You can also add wood ash from a stove and peat moss to lighten it up.
Once the soil dries out they will still dig in the clay to make their own baths. Mine do in our hard packed clay.
Dumping in a bunch of dry leave would be great as is adding in wood chips if you have access to any.

Well.....the leaves aren't currently dry. Is that a deal-breaker?

 

[AnnPann]

i use a plastic barrel planter (the kind that’s wider at the top), and fill it halfway with just peat moss, which (as long as it stays dry) stays fluffy and dusty like they like it. for the run floor, i use mulch and then add leaves whenever it’s dry enough to grab a few buckets and dump them in there in a pile to dig through.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The wet leaves can go into the run and will break down into the soil as the chickens scratch through them.

For the actual dust bath, I buy plain peat moss (no fertilizers, add ins) and just add it as needed to my dust bath.

 

[Knobby]

I get wood chips, from our local parks, and have put in about 4 inches of it onto my run. I made the accident of placing the coop and run on a low spot of our yard, but the wood chips have helped keep it dry enough for the hens to walk on. As far as dust baths, I used dried dirt mixed with a little sand and organic material and they seem to love it. You do have to constantly refill the bath since they toss everything up in the air and out of its containment area.