Ant nest in the chickens nest

[geeber]

Our chickens are two months old. I have them out in their coop w/ hay in the nest boxes.
Yesterday we were cleaning the coop & I took the old hay out of the nest box. There was an ant colony in there.
Is this why the chickens do not sleep in their coop?
How do I get rid of the colony safely?
Can I use DE?
And why wont the girls eat the d*mn ants?!

 

[dawg53]

I wouldnt live/sleep in there neither if there were ants crawling around 24/7, especially if they were fire ants. I think most ants can spray or give off an acid as a defense (not to mention their pinchers being painful), I'm not sure but I think it's folic acid to deter predators. Your chickens wont eat them for that reason,also ants can carry tapeworms. You should get rid of the ants...all of them. I recommend using sevin dust to control your ant problem. It'll also protect your chickens/nests from lice and mites.

 

[geeber]

These are those little sugar ants. Is sevin dust safe to use around the chickens? I dont want to use anything that would harm them?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Yes, sevin is very safe around the birds (read the label); it's only issue is that it seems to be losing effectiveness. Better to rotate pesticides.