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Weed 'em & Reap

Urban Farming. Healthy Living.

Repurposing Old Tires Into Chicken Baths

DaNelle Wolford 31 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission.

chickens playing in homemade dust baths

 

Chickens love dirt and they don’t care who knows it.

It’s called a dust bath, and for your chickens, it’s the ultimate luxury. It also serves another purpose by keeping your chickens mite-free. There goes nature again. Fixing everything naturally.

Problem is, chickens create dust bath locations in places that cause more problems for you, the chicken owner. They dig holes for dust baths in the coop, or the run, or if you have really horrible chickens, right next to your back gate so new people who visit your farm get a nice slip n’ trip.

Chickens. Scheming murderous plots against humans since, well…ever.

Repurposing old tires into chicken baths

The process is fairly simple and great for kids!

Step 1) Get your old tires (any tire shop will give them away for free) and place something under them to catch the overspray from the spray paint. 

tires layed out on cardboard squares in a backyard

Step 2) Start a’ spraying. One can of spray per tire should do it.

close up of a child spray painting a tire green

Kids spray painting tires outsideStep 3) Fill ’em with dirt and/or sand. Also, it’s super important that you place a sign next to it. Otherwise, how would they know what they are? 

 


Repurposing Old Tires Into Chicken Baths || Weed 'Em and Reap

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ABOUT DANELLE

DaNelle started to take an interest in a healthier lifestyle after suffering from two debilitating chronic diseases. On a mission to create a farm of her own, DaNelle forced, or rather 'lovingly persuaded' her husband to purchase a ranch home on an acre of land and transform it into their very own urban farm. DaNelle blogs at Weed 'em & Reap where she writes about the sustainable backyard farming, traditional food, & natural remedies.

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Comments

  1. Debbye says

    September 1, 2017 at 10:20 am

    I’m new to back yard chickens, what is DE?

    Reply
    • Bobbi says

      September 2, 2017 at 6:42 am

      Hi Debbye-
      DE is diatomaceous earth. It’s usually used a dewormer. Thanks -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)

      Reply
  2. Crystal says

    August 5, 2017 at 1:17 pm

    So I’ve painted my tire and ready to fill with dirt. Something just occurred to me. We get a lot of rain and snow. Should I put them under cover so they don’t turn in to muddy bathtubs??

    Reply
    • (farm expert) Bobbi Luttjohann says

      August 6, 2017 at 3:25 pm

      Hi Crystal-
      So exciting your tire chicken baths are “up and running”! You should post a pic of them sometime! As for your question, you can definitely put up some sort of cover to keep them dry. Keeping the dirt/dust dry makes them more useful for the chickens. You could even place them on the south side of a shed to help with snow. Great job thinking ahead and doing some good hard work for your chickens. Thanks for watching and posting! -Bobbi

      Reply
  3. Caroline says

    March 31, 2017 at 7:17 pm

    How long do you let the tires dry? And how much DE do you add to a tire full of dirt/sand?

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      April 8, 2017 at 10:28 pm

      About an hour till the paint is dry. I add about a quart to each tire.

      Reply
  4. Emily says

    September 4, 2016 at 3:14 pm

    Help! I’ve lost 4 chickens his month. They are 4.5 months old and should be laying any day but instead are just deciding to die. 🙁 They have high quality feed & plenty of water, I am not sure the problem but someone suggested I get a “rooster booster” or chicken vitamin & electrolytes blend. Also, I’m not sure if it could possibly be coccidia because we lost three in one week, although they have no symptoms. We want to keep our chickens organic, any natural treatments or things I could do to keep them healthy/get them back to being healthy?!?! Oregano oil in the waterer? Can I let them eat garlic cloves? Would that even help? Any advice is much appreciated 🙂

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      September 10, 2016 at 4:41 pm

      Hi Emily,

      Wow, chickens are pretty hearty animals so my best guess would be weather-related (really hot temps) or virus related (read up on Marek’s disease). You can let them eat garlic cloves, that would definitely boost immunity.

      Reply
    • Mary says

      September 17, 2016 at 12:29 am

      Are they getting grit? I had a friend whose chickens got sick because they didn’t have grit to help grind their food. They had peat moss and dirt, but no gravel or anything. They started fattening up when she got them grit and oyster shells. No idea if this is a problem in your area, but not everyone knows they need grit.

      Reply
  5. Robin says

    June 9, 2016 at 1:49 am

    Can’t wait to try this. I know you can add cinnamon to sandbox and keep out the fire ants. Maybe it will work for the chickens as well.

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      June 12, 2016 at 8:38 pm

      What a GREAT idea!

      Reply
  6. Korrin says

    April 26, 2016 at 7:27 pm

    Hi there,
    These are a great idea!!
    What kind of paint did you use on the tyres?

    Thanks ☺

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      May 1, 2016 at 9:51 pm

      I used an outdoor spray paint:)

      Reply
  7. Lois Windell says

    April 24, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    If I put the tire outside, do I need to put something under the tire so the rain won’t wash I away?

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      April 25, 2016 at 8:56 am

      Hi Lois, that might be a good idea:) We don’t have a lot of rain here in Arizona, so I didn’t even consider it. Though once you fill the tires with dirt they are pretty heavy!

      Reply
      • Kathy says

        January 29, 2017 at 1:32 am

        Do t forget to mention adding some de to the dirt or sand, this will help get rid of any bugs the chickens might have!

  8. Siobhan henry says

    April 22, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    I love this idea, but do you have to use special non-toxic paint?

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      April 25, 2016 at 9:04 am

      I didn’t, because chickens won’t peck at the tires:)

      Reply
      • Siobhan henry says

        April 25, 2016 at 12:45 pm

        Ok thanks – will get the kids onto it this weekend!

  9. Sharon says

    January 26, 2016 at 2:59 am

    Would these baths need to be out of the weather or just out in the yard?

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      February 7, 2016 at 7:40 pm

      Hi Sharon,

      We have these out in the yard:)

      Reply
  10. sherbear says

    January 8, 2016 at 7:43 am

    I use peat moss and wood ash and sand. They go crazy when I mix up a new batch for them . I love that it would be contained Instead of scattered all over the run. Can’t wait to try this!!!!

    Reply
  11. Susan B says

    January 6, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    I’m weird about chemicals…so here’s my question; I’ve heard that houses built with tires as the base for walls create problems – would this do the same for my chickens.

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      January 13, 2016 at 9:45 pm

      Hi Susan,

      I’m not sure. My chickens don’t live in it constantly and we think it’s fine. I would probably worry more if the tires were inside the coop with low ventilation:)

      Reply
  12. Sally at Garden Valley Homestead says

    January 6, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    I really like this idea. We just happen to have a few tires too. Our dust bath ingredients usually include dirt, diatomaceous earth, and wood ash. We have A LOT of deer here. This combo helps manage the fleas and ticks they bring onto or property.

    Reply
  13. Jan says

    January 6, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Mix some of the ashes from your wood stove with the dirt. It’s helps keep mites down.

    Reply
  14. Carole West @ Garden Up Green says

    January 6, 2016 at 7:20 am

    I would love to try this but I’m afraid they would attract fire ants? Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      January 13, 2016 at 9:47 pm

      I Carol,

      It’s possible they might, we don’t have that problem here, but I do know my chickens and geese would eat up the ants if that were the case!

      Reply
    • Danielle Adams says

      February 17, 2016 at 1:11 pm

      Hello Carole- We did something similar in south Texas and as long as we moved the tires every month we haven’t had issues with fire ants moving in. We also put some on pavers stones then filled and those we haven’t moved in at least 7 months and still no fire ants.

      Reply
    • Debbie says

      April 20, 2017 at 3:08 am

      Hey Carole, fireant s really hate mint. I live in nw Florida, not too far from where the original invasion of these critters began, so we have a very serious problem with them here. I discovered completely by happenstance that mint drives them away. It may take a couple of weeks, but a small sprig poked right in the middle of a fireant hill will usually run them off. Hope this helps.

      Debbie… (0;
      <

      Reply
  15. Kay says

    December 27, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    Want to try this in the spring when I restock my chickens. Lost my pretty babies due to a fox and several opossums. Better protection for them is in the works. I love the colors. Right now we are having floods so they would have mud baths. LOLOLOL

    Reply

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HEY THERE!

I'm DaNelle. I'm a city girl who convinced her husband to buy goats. Because, goats. Growing my own food has been an amazing experience, and this is the place I share it all with you! READ MORE…

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