Pure. Natural. Highly Effective.
ChickenDust™ is naturally pure pumice blended from select grades to provide a highly effective dust bath. Dust bathing is a fascinating, instinctual grooming behavior of poultry and game birds, used to keep feathers and skin effectively clean and parasites under control. Birds instinctively seek out and create places to dust-bathe. Making ChickenDust available to the flock can greatly improve the effectiveness of the activity.
The Nitty Gritty
Dual-Benefit Form Factor. The absorbent, foamed-stone, multi-edged form factor of pumice makes it especially useful for both of these critical functions. ONE: Pumice works as a dry cleanser and conditioner by capturing gunk and absorbing excess oils, which are removed during dust shake-off. TWO: Pumice works as a mechanical insecticide by abrasion and desiccation. Pumice dust sticks to the protective waxy coating on a parasite’s exoskeleton, cutting and scraping, jamming and grinding and sucking out moisture until they break down and/or dry out—parasitic abatement without chemicals.
Beyond Dust Bathing. Parasitic crawlies can be further controlled by sprinkling ChickenDust in and around the coop, especially in the structural seams and crevices where parasites hide. If bedding materials are used in the coop, a liberal sprinkling of ChickenDust will supplement absorption and odor control. ChickenDust is also great in the compost pile when soiled bedding is changed out—improving the composting process, and then later, the soil the compost is blended into.
Safe and Clean. ChickenDust™ particles have no crystalline structure, and thus do not present a respiratory danger to man or fowl. In industrial use, for example, our pumice grades (including those grades used for the ChickenDust blend) are classified by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as no more than a “nuisance dust.” ChickenDust is also pH neutral (pH of 7.2) and so presents no caustic acidity or alkalinity concerns. The relative density (2.35 g/cc) of our pumice means the airborne dust generated by dust-bathing activity is diminished.
Purity: ChickenDust is comprised of 98% pumice and 2% other igneous minerals (obsidian, chert).
Instructions for Using ChickenDust
Use a large, shallow container—something large enough for more than one bird. The container can be set on the ground if the sides are short enough for easy access, or a higher-sided container can be counter-sunk into the ground as necessary. Locating the dust bath out of the weather (so it stays dry) and in a warm place (or in the sun) during the cold months will encourage it’s use.
Alternatively, add ChickenDust™ to a shallow depression in the ground—typically a bathing spot the birds have already scratched out and frequent. A generous topping of ChickenDust will improve the effectiveness of the native dust the birds are already using.
Maintenance. Periodically, droppings will need to be scooped out. Add additional ChickenDust as needed. Change out the bathing dust every few weeks, depending on number of chickens and use frequency.
Disposal. Spread soiled ChickenDust on the compost pile, spade it into garden soils, or sprinkle it over pasture: pumice becomes a functional amendment benefit in all of those places.