Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

How do chickens have dust baths in the winter? I would think that it probably more important for them in the winter than summer, since they spend more time in the coop. Do I have to provide grit, or do they get that in their food? Is feeding them egg shells enough?

I have a kiddie pool in their covered pen with dirt/sand/wood ash and DE. They LOVE it. And yes I'd provide grit. Most important in winter when they can't find their own little pebbles outside.

I have a 3 gallon feed pan that gets used as a dustbath in the covered part of my run as well as a larger clear tote. The tote stays out in the run, but the feed pan is easily moved into the coop on days when the weather is too inclement for the hens to go out. Only one hen can bathe at a time, but it's better than nothing.

Grit is used in the gizzard to grind up food. You can buy a big bag of it at TSC and at most feed stores. Depending on the kind of feed your chickens are getting, it may contain grit. I think most, but not all, pelleted layer ration contains grit, so you'd have to check the ingredients on your bag of feed.

Eggshells are not a substitute for grit; they provide calcium for shell quality, as does oyster shell, which can also be purchased at TSC and most feed stores.

If you're feeding crumbles or pellets, they don't need grit. Those are already pulverized into powder and turn to mush in the crop. If you're feeding grain, grit will help extract more nutrients from it. Commercial layer food generally has enough calcium in it for heritage breed hens and young layer breeds, but as they get older you may find they need a bit more. I use dolomite pea gravel...it provides grit and a bit of calcium and other trace minerals. I don't get soft shells except from Andy, and that's when I know the grit needs refilling lol. For dust bathing I use totes and kitty litter pans. Lots gets tossed out of the pans but they have such fun doing it LOL

Thanks everyone. Where do I get sand from...the feed store? Can I use dirt from the garden? We use layer feed, so I think that they should be ok for grit then.

If none outside get play sand bags at builder supply .

as far as the dirt bath goes... i also save ashes from the wood stove and they love bathing in that...also good to keep bugs away

Funny story. Hubby brought a chicken to me last summer very concerned with how pale and grey she looked. Thought she was dying lol. She had been in the fire pit.

HAHAHA! I'v had to stop a bird from dustbathing in the fire pit because there was still coals in it from the night before... silly chicken! I keep a lid on it now! LOL.

I use a 70/30 DE and wood ash in rubbermaids, one in each coop.

Thanks guys! We do have wood ashes from our wood stove and fire pits. I will check with the feed store to see about purchasing DE. LOL Happy, that is too funny. Your husband must have been relieved when he found out it was just ashes. Geez, I didn't know they liked wood ashes that much, to use the fire pit. Your chicken was lucky Al. Our chickens and ducks are fenced in, so they don't have access to our fire pits.