Wood ash good or bad?

[Chick2chicken]

Hi,
Our chicken friend told us that putting wood ash on our chickens dust bath area was a good idea, but after looking at a post here on backyard chickens I'm not so sure. Some people seem to have very strong opinions on if it's a good idea or a bad one. If we were to use the wood ash we would use the ash that came from our wood stove fireplace. Is putting ash on the dust bath a good idea or a bad one?
Thanks
Chick2chicken

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place.

 

[Poultry parent]

I put wood ash in my chicken's dust bath once because they had lice. They were fine, no respiratory problems. I did mix the ash with dirt so that they weren't bathing in plain ash.

If you want to try it then go ahead and try it. If there ends up being a problem, then just stop using the ash

 

[centrarchid]

My free-range chickens appear to have a preference for areas with wood ash for the purpose of dust bathing. I do not know if it is the wood ash or something else about the locations promoted by fire that interests the chickens. I have not noticed any health issues related to dust bathing in such locations.

They freely consume the charcoal present in those same areas.