Hi Winston 1. I have a coop that is raised off the dirt about 2 feet and I put sand and DE down throughout the winter. My girls dust bathe all the time, especially if the sun is shining. I also have an area behind the garage that is part of their run. I do the same thing there, under the roof overhang.
Yes, they are eating and drinking in the covered run, but I'll be back with pics so you can see the layout. They have an upper coop with their roosts and that's where they sleep. They walk down the ladder in the morning to the covered run where the food/water/grit/oyster shells are....I keep the covered run door open where they have access to basically another run but that isn't covered...it's basically to protect from them from my dogs and any other predators. That's where the covered dust bath is. I'll send pics...stay tuned...
Thank you for the info! I think I'll grab some sand and clear out a little area under the coop as my coop is 2 feet off the ground too. The middle picture is the covered outdoor dust bath that the girls use all the time...they just won't go out there now in the snow.
