Charley Diggin' Dirt
Meet Charley, short for Charlotte, she is a White-Crested Blue Polish hen, one of three new bantam hens I have added to my blended flock at “Coop de Manion” recently. More on this to follow.
Isn’t Charley beautiful. She is as soft and fluffy to the touch as she looks. Her floppy white crest exaggerates her movement and personality. Honestly, I have had my beloved hens for about eight years, and Charley is special, she doesn’t even act like a chicken. If I am crouching near the ground, she practically jumps in my lap, like a giddy teenager. With that said, she loves to be out in our garden, and loves to burrow in our soft sandy soil and create a dirt bath for herself.
In the above photo, Charley is demonstrating the fine art of a chicken “dirt bath.” Don’t ask me how they know how to do it, or where they learn it, they just know. Maybe they learn from their elders. If you have a prize-winning garden, this is about the most destructive a chicken will be. Chickens pride themselves in burrowing in the soil, making an indentation, and flicking dirt over themselves. If you have an exposed vegetable garden, this is another story because chickens love to help themselves to the latest gourmet treat emerging in your garden.
Charley is demonstrating her “dirt bath,” in this sunny, sandy corridor where I have planted herbs along this pathway. All of my hens love to gravitate to this area, and wallow deep in the sandy soil. It is their favorite spot in the garden.
I have mentioned before when speaking of chickens in the garden, chickens love dirt baths to cleanse their feathers, cool themselves, and for general relaxation. It is sometimes hard to move a relaxed hen from her sunny dirt bath spot.
Now that you know the finer points of the chicken “dirt bath,” I hope to put your mind at ease, and not be too concerned if you see your chickens doing the same in your garden. Rest assured, it is one of their little life pleasures.
Please share if your chickens like “dirt baths.” Please share with us a little about your favorite chickens and their personalities.
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Hello Bonnie, You have a great blog here. Thanks for shareing all your fun, interesting and educational information. Your chicken coop and chickens are lovely. Hopefully we can get our coop built soon and ready for our new friends and fresh eggs. The paper whites around my new planted fruit trees will be top on my list of getting planted as soon as possible. We have deer, rabbit and huge gofer (turtles). Gofer pictures on my blog. http://sunflower38.blogspot.com/
Sunflower, thanks for your kind words and your lovely blog. I am not familiar with gofer turtles. Yes, you need to plant paperwhites.
Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal
I am not familiar with chicken behavior. I only recently became a chicken owner. One of my chickens, Yoli, recently, started loosing feathers and sits in the her nest all the time… when she does leave it (I allow the chickens to roam the yard about two hours a day) she runs around cackling for about ten minutes then returns to the nest.
Darlene, it sounds like your hen is molting. She should grow in new feathers in a few weeks. She could be brooding, too, wanting to sit on a clutch of eggs. Both are natural things for hens to do….VintageGardenGal
dear bonnie, to my horror i just discoverd that my chicken have bugs. is there a home remendy to get rid of them? also can they infest me? omg i have the creepy crawleys. HELP!
Hilda, there is a poultry dust that for mites and lice. You shake it onto the base of their feathers. Also, I have heard of a larger mite, which is looks like plant scale that concentrates on their feet, legs, and sometimes eye area. Rubbing mineral oil on those affected areas will work on those type of mites. I’m just guessing on what kind of bugs you have. Your local feed source, if you consult with them, will have some solutions.
Above all, try and keep your chicken coop and outside pen area as clean as possible.
Thanks for your great question…VintageGardenGal
thanks bonnie, had a guy look at my girls, it was lice. have the powder going to do them when the settle in for the night.my chicken pen is cleaned every second day, but i know where the prob came from. i had friend give me a new girl, so now i have to give friend the bad news. word of wisdom for all you chicken lovers out there, learn fr my mistake and keep any newcomers away fr your main flock for a week or two.oh well we live and learn.