I have many readers write me about fighting chicken mites. They are annoying to both the chickens and their keepers. Before you find yourself fighting them, you can make a dust box for the chickens to do their own daily maintenance. By rolling around in the dust/dirt, they kind of scratch any mites off their bodies. Chickens love to take dust baths, and will dig in your flower beds, in their run, or wherever they can to find relief.
How to make a Dust Box:
Find a sturdy tub. I have a Rubbermaid-type thing with a lid, so that when it rains I can cover it.
Fill it with equal parts of sand, food-grade diatomaceous earth (make sure it’s food-grade!!) and wood ash. We use natural charcoal, so we use the ashes from that. If you use regular charcoal briquettes, or lighter fluid, do NOT use those ashes. Use ashes from your fireplace instead.
And now comes the hard part. Put the dust box in the chicken’s run and walk away. Chickens are naturally curious and will explore the box soon enough. They instinctively know what to do with a big pile of dirt.
Try and resist the urge to “show” your hens what to do by plunking them in the box. I did this. They will be convinced that you are trying to kill them and never want to go in that evil box again. I have 2 chickens who love the box and two who think it is the source of all evil in the universe. You can imagine who’s feathers look better, right?
Much as I’ve wanted to raise a few chickens on my own, I think I really like having them vicariously through you much more. I love the humorous way you deal with (or at least recount) the “challenges”. I guess they’re not like cats where you can toss them in the litter box and they automatically know what to do.
Oh gracious! I laughed so hard that I snorted in a terribly unladylike manner.
Question: Isn’t DE very harmful to lungs? I know it’s very harmful to humans and dogs when the dust is breathed in. Wouldn’t it be harmful to chickens? Thanks!
Hi Michael,
More information about DE has come out since I wrote that post. Breathing in the dust isn’t good for your lungs and probably not for the chicken’s either. I still use it on the tray that goes under their roost (that catches the droppings) and under the wood shavings in their nest box. That way they don’t kick up the DE and it keeps the mites under control.