bathing | Better Hens and Gardens

Choices in Egg Quality

In the US today, we’re being offered more and more choices in food quality; and it’s because many of us are demanding locally grown foods that are antibiotic, hormone, and pesticide free. In terms of eggs quality, it’s not clear sometimes what the choices mean – here’s a rundown on the different types of eggs:

Commercial or “Factory Farmed” Eggs

These are the standard grocery store eggs; and unfortunately, the “farms” that produce these eggs are typically poultry houses where the hens are housed indoors in tiny metal cages. They’re routinely debeaked (part of their beaks are cut [...]

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Chickens Don't Take Water Baths - They Take Dust Baths!

Will & Bab Really Dusting

One of the funniest chicken behaviors to watch is dust bathing. The chickens find some warm, dry, loose material like dirt, sand, or mulch; and proceed to dig themselves in. They’ll dig and dig, throwing dirt all over themselves, and make happy noises while doing it. One place ours like to bath is beneath a window with a bench seat, and we enjoy sitting there watching and listening to them bath.

Why Dust Baths

Chickens take dust baths to get clean and rid themselves of the parasites that tend to afflict them (mites, fleas, etc.), because instinct has taught [...]

Continue reading Chickens Don’t Take Water Baths – They Take Dust Baths!