Chickens love to find a dry dusty area to roll around in. This is healthy for them. Birds are prone to parasites like lice and mites. Providing a nice place for them to dust bathe gives them a natural way to control the parasites.
I like to take this a step further. In the chicken run I have an area that I occasionally build small fires. The fires burn to ash and cool off. It doesn't take long for the girls to find this little slice of heaven. They gather 'round like it's a day at the Spa!
The wood ash is a very high PH level. The chickens don't seem to mind the higher PH numbers, but it creates a negative environment for the little buggers that would live on the birds feathers and skin.
This is the same reason why old time farmers would "white wash" the inside of barns and coops with Lye. All the little crevices in the wood are no longer suitable for the parasites when covered in a Lye wash.
Take a look at the video about this subject. While you are there you get to see our goat Buddy hanging out with us like a dog :)
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