How Chickens Get Clean.

Chickens just love dust-bathing.  They roll and wiggle all over the ground. Burrowing down into the gravel or dirt until they leave large holes and dips in the surface. This can be a destructive process if your flower bed proves to be a desirable place for them to bathe. I designate dust bathing sites for the girls and put shovelfuls of wood ashes in the holes to promote their use. The girls are extremely grateful and like to keep the same bathe sites since it's a lot of work for them to burrow down to their desired bathing depth. Dust bathing prevents parasites from living amongst their feathers. During the winter months I throw a scoop or two of wood ashes on a bare spot in the girls area to prevent them from bathing in potentially dirty bedding. You can also make them a dust bathing box to put in their coop with them. When I did this they simply threw it's contents onto the floor of their coop and proceeded to bathe in their bedding instead. Here's some shots of the girls bathing in their trusty bath hole by our garage.