I've heard of mud baths ... but dust baths? Yep, you got it: a chicken's way to get clean is by sitting in dry dirt or sand to take a lovely bath. Even though it sounds counterintuitive, the dust and the preening that follows helps a chicken rid its feathers of irritating parasites. It also helps them control them control their body temperature and prevent injury (though how it prevents injury is beyond me and my handy Storey's guide does not say).
So how do they take a dust bath you ask? Ok, so you didn't ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway. First, the chicken digs a hole in the dirt, then she sits and flaps her wings working all that nice filth and grime until she is well-coated throughout. Once the chicken is done wallowing, she stands up and gives a nice shake so that you can see all the dust billowing in the air. Refreshing! Here's a quick little video of the wallowing part.
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