Chicken Behavior- Dirt/Dust Baths

[aart]

and even excited for the chance to take a dirt bath if normally confined.

Don't imply that confined birds don't dust bathe...depends on where they are confined
They should always have somewhere to dust bathe.
Yes, they seem to be relaxed and enjoy it, often switching between frantically scratching/pecking the dirt and lounging in an apparent trance...especially if dust bowl is in the sun.

 

[seattlechicken2019]

Has anyone else noticed their hen walking low to the ground, then sitting, then walking normally, then low to the ground again for a while after the dust bath? I couldn't figure out what she was doing, and then finally she shook her feathers and a huge cloud of dirt came out. I think she was holding the dirt in her feathers for it to do it's job, but it was just such weird behavior I wanted to check.

 

[aart]

Has anyone else noticed their hen walking low to the ground, then sitting, then walking normally, then low to the ground again for a while after the dust bath? I couldn't figure out what she was doing, and then finally she shook her feathers and a huge cloud of dirt came out. I think she was holding the dirt in her feathers for it to do it's job, but it was just such weird behavior I wanted to check.

Not sure why, and have seen something like that...nothing to worry about if all else is good.

 

[Sueby]

My girls are in their coop/secure run all day until I get home. When I open the pop door they run up the chicken tunnel to the big run - first thing they do is head to the dust bath.

They made a bath under that pallet you see in the pic, there is really only room for 3 so the low girl on the totem usually ends up waiting while the top 3 pile on top of each other. Sometimes they just lay there for a very long time doing nothing.

They do bathe in their secure run, which is what some call deep litter - wood chips, leaves, etc but they MUCH prefer their bath under the pallet that is just plain old dirt.