A plunge in the sandbox is good hygiene for chickens. If you’ve never seen chicken dust bathe, the sight can be rather startling. Chickens lying around in the mud aggressively twitching their feet, flapping their wings, and rolling their heads, the chicken initially appears to be having an uncontrollable fit. Then it remains still in the hole it just made, resembling death itself. When you go over to check on the bird, it will hop up and brush itself off, filling the air with fine dust.
Researchers report in the Journal of Economic Entomology that cage-free flocks that “bathe” by flapping around in diatomaceous earth (fine dust of fossilized algae) and sand prevent major mite infections. Major infections of more than 100 mites per bird make hens lay 2 to 4 percent fewer eggs on average. So access to boxes filled with dust, which look like tiny sandboxes, makes sense for birds’ health and for farmers’ wallets.
Researchers reared cage-free chicks in poultry houses with dust boxes. The researchers infected clean hens with 20 to 30 mites apiece for two weeks, then measured the amount of each bird’s infestation. Each dust-bathing hen carried 100 or fewer mites on average throughout the course of six to ten weeks.
Dust baths harm the waxy outer layer of mites and kill them by drying them out. Scientists already knew dust may help control mites in infested birds, but they weren’t sure if it could also be used to prevent mites.
The University of California, Riverside researchers reared cage-free chicks in poultry houses with dust boxes. The researchers infected clean hens with 20 to 30 mites apiece for two weeks, then measured the amount of each bird’s infestation. Each dust-bathing hen carried 100 or fewer mites on average throughout the course of six to ten weeks. Mite populations exploded after the dust baths were eliminated. According to the researchers, the new findings indicate to dust boxes as an alternative to insecticides for cage-free and organic farms.
Chickens, for example, are susceptible to intestinal worms if they are kept in a free-range or deep-litter environment. Worms are a pretty prevalent concern in birds, and they can have an impact on growth performance, feed conversion, and hen egg production.
Worms infest chickens when they consume tainted feed or water. Poultry birds are typically grown on free-range or deep-litter, which exposes them to eating worms, slugs, and other critters on the ground, and as a result, they become contaminated.
Dust bathing is a means for hens to keep themselves clean, similar to how we would bathe a dog or shower ourselves. It’s just a unique and, to be honest, unusual style of bathing. It also functions as a natural insecticide, warding off parasites and other nasty creepy crawlies, thus it is beneficial to their health! For chickens, dust bathing is a pleasant and even communal activity. So don’t forget to provide your chickens with a dust bath.
Dust baths are popular among chickens because they naturally maintain their feathers clean, healthy, and parasite-free. It is also an instinctual action that appears to keep the birds happy, in the same way as scratching is beneficial to their mental health. Dust bathing is a natural behavior in chickens and in the UK and EU must be provided by law.
