Do your chickens have a dust bath? This great idea gives your girls a place to have a dust bath and keep themselves healthy. It's easy to make these diy old tyre chicken dust baths.
This is a super cheap project and you can pick up old tyres for free, if you do not have any. You may need to purchase one or two of the other materials but they are not expensive at all. Grab wood ash from your wood stove or fire and remove any large charcoal chunks.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- an old tyre or two
- wood ash
- sand
- soil
- food grade diatomaceous earth
- shovel
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Step By Step Instructions
Step 1
Find a nice corner either by your kitset chicken coop or in your yard if you have free range chickens. I found an old plastic bin lid that fitted inside my tyre which keeps the dust all inside the tyre so I can move it around with my hen house. Another idea is to use the bottom of a 200L plastic drum instead of a tyre.
Step 2
Mix the four materials, in equal parts.
Step 3
Fill the center of each tyre with your ‘dust’ mixture from the previous step.
Step 4
Let your chickens loose, and watch them have some fun as they bathe.
Even if you do not provide dust baths your chickens will still find ways to clean themselves. They may end up doing it in your flower or garden beds. Provide them with some nice dust baths so they can remove any lice and mites trapped in their feathers.
Not sure where to get Food grade diatomaceous earth from?
We sell Smite Organic which is 100% natural food grade Diatomaceous Earth. This product is great for getting rid of red mites and other insects from your hens. Smite Powder is safe to use in your hen house or even apply directly onto your hens to kill mites. No need for chemicals or pesticides, this product is safe to use around people or animals. Use for Kills mites, lice, flying and crawling insects.
Click here for more information about Smite Powder
