I know what you’re all going to say, and you’re right, we probably do have the most spoilt chickens on the planet.
They’re fed the best food we can afford to give them, from whole heads of cabbage to sourdough pancakes to oven roasted tuna. And because we’re running a chicken spa, they also get a custom dust bath every couple of days.
With the recent wet weather, it’s been hard for the girls to find a spot in the chook dome to take their dust baths – an essential grooming process, necessary to keep them clean and parasite-free. So…we’ve half-filled an old recycling bin with carefully sifted dry dirt, and this goes into their coop every afternoon for an hour or two.
It’s hysterically funny to watch them – they line up and take turns in the tub, rolling around in the dirt and flicking it under their feathers to clean them. They end up coated in a fine sheen, which makes them look as if they’ve been dusted in talcum powder.
Despite being brutally windy yesterday, the sun was quite bright, and I managed to record this clip of Francesca undertaking her daily ablutions. I thought you might enjoy a glimpse into poultry preening…
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Celia, you are indeed a great mum to all, including those very lucky chickens! Hey you never know, maybe chicken spas are the next thing to happen? :D
Could you imagine, Lorraine? We’ll be issuing them with monogrammed towels next.. hahaha
Mister Pretty, our very large cat that likes to roll in the sandbox, approves.
>^..^<
(And the Danny and Annie video made me cry too.)
Maz, I guess if you don’t like to get wet, sand and dirt and self-preening are the only ways to get clean! :)
You totally made my day with this post and that video! And the little guy (who is sitting on my lap) wanted to watch it over and over. =)
Nice piece thanks. Will show this to Den.
Celia thats so funny that you have trained them to line up and take turns for their afternoon ablutions. Your girls are very well looked after!
Abby, so glad your little man enjoyed it! :) In case he hasn’t seen them, I’ve also uploaded some chicken videos here and here!
Peter, thank you! Den’s hens are beautiful!
Brydie, we didn’t train them – they just seem to have figured it out for themselves. But it is so funny to watch – Frannie is always first in the bath, even though she’s not at the top of the pecking order. But she’s our glamorous Italian supermodel, so it figures.. :)
I tried washing my chicken once, I used a very expensive Stephan shampoo of my mums. Let’s just say that neither were impressed, and most of chookies feathers fell out! I learnt that dust was actually ‘clean’ the hard way.
Oh dear…thanks for the warning, R! :)
This dry dirt bath is a great idea – I’ll have to pass it on to my friends with chooks as I think they are a bit muddied out after all this rain.
I’m sure that our girls would love this, too – if only we could find some dry dirt.
A couple of them could do with a relaxing massage, too, after a close brush with an over-excited wolfhound yesterday!!
I love it – the Chicken Spa!!
I love your chooks!
Sarah, they do love it!
Amanda, we’ve been having the same problem – it’s been so wet! Poor chooks have struggled to find a dry patch to bury themselves in!
SG, Deb, thank you! :)
You are a worry, a real worry! ;-)
Hahahaha….hard as this might be to believe, Lee, you’re not the first person to ever say that to me!! Hehe..
I do love the ritual of the dust bath, it’s so fascinating to watch! What a clever use of the recycling box too, do you put some grain in there for them to peck at while they bathe? Franny looks completely content. How lucky your girls are to have you taking care of them :)
Chris, no grain, I think Frannie’s just picking at bits of grit. I don’t want to think that she might be eating any bugs that she’s flicking off her feathers..ugh… :)
Oh, this did bring a smile to my lunchtime – loved hearing about your chooks. If they were much more spoiled, they just might be my family’s trifle-eating timeshare cat!
Oh Wow…, I’ve just spent 20 mins reading all your chicken posts, but this ones fabulous. Your girls are indeed loved, you can practically see Frannie’s smile from ear to ear. (Do chickens have ears?… )
thanks for sharing.
Anna
Penguin, a time-share cat!! Too funny! Hopefully the shared custody arrangements all work well.. :)
Anna, thank you! One of the chooks – I think it’s Harriet – likes to tuck bits of twigs and leaves into her feathers just before she has a dust bath – no idea why. Fashion statement, I suspect. Oh, and chickens must have ears, because they can hear me coming out the back door… :)
Well, when I die, I want to come back as one of your chooks.
What a sweetie she is! I love her happiness noises while she bathes :) Thanks for sharing that, brought a smile to my face.
I tried to comment yesterday, got kicked out twice… not sure why. Maybe I haven’t been a good girl lately ;-)
both me and my husband loved seeing the video of the dust bath – we had no idea they enjoyed this sort of thing, very cute to watch
I hope you keep posting about your adventures with them, I learn a lot from you
J Cosmo, thank you! :)
Joanna, so glad you enjoyed it! It’s good fun to watch them!
Sally, loved your photos of your new nano-house! Glad you enjoyed the clip and sorry you had trouble leaving a comment – not sure why that is. I know I’ve had trouble leaving comments on blogspot lately – maybe I’ve been naughty too. :)
Now there is one very happy chook – if only they all had such good lives.
That video is priceless! They certainly have personality. It almost sounds like she’s singing in the background.
Choc, thank you for saying that – it means a lot to me that they’re happy! :)
Cat, you made me laugh – I had to listen to the clip again, it really does sound like Frannie’s singing in the shower… :)
I was amused by her “singing”.