Chickens don’t want to use dust bath!

[RojoMarz]

I have a plastic doghouse, with wood ash inside, that is supposed to be used for dust baths. They lounge in it but also dig holes in the dirt. One of the girls thinks it's a nest box, as someone is laying eggs in there.

 

[nuthatched]

Hey Nuthatched! yeah in the recent weeks they have sorta started growing their tails at different rates. I definitely noticed that black chick has curved tail feathers, i’m not looking to have roosters but if it happens, so be it i guess! he/she could help take care of the small flock. I just wanted to give it benefit of the doubt and wait and see if more tail feathers would grow in... behavior wise it hasn’t been too different.

They did have an issue with some white dots clusters at the base of neck feathers in June July so i was really trying to spray them down with appropriate stuff and encourage them to use dust bath too. After 3 rounds of the spray the white dots have lessened soo much. I don’t know if it was mites or lice. i think i did see a tiny translucent white insect scurry among the feathers of a black one, but it’s really hard to tell since chickens don’t really stay still for you to look carefully.

You can use poultry dust on them for them mites, if you want. Chickens will have some sort of mite no matter what to some degree.
I leaning towards cockerel for that one, while the longer tail feathers are suspicious, I was looking at the feathers on the neck and side of the tail base, usually a better indicator BUT the wattles and comb are still underdeveloped and most cockerels have pretty noticeable combs at this point so could be a pullet with a flowy tail.
I'm glad you're willing to keep it if it is a cockerel, :]

 

[Cecisflock]

I don't know what a golden comet is supposed to look like, so can't help with them.

"Golden Comets" Are just red sex links

 

[BigBlueHen53]

According to homeguides.sfgate.com/diatomaceousearth, DE is affected by moisture and loses its sharp microscopic edges when wet. They state that it must be replaced after every rain. Or, one would assume, dewfall.

Our chickens found a sandy spot in the yard that, years (decades!) ago used to be a sandbox for children; they are now using it to dust bathe in. We heat our house partially with a wood stove and have collected the ashes in an old bathtub kept in a dry place. We've added some of these hardwood ashes into their sandbox and they love it. We don't seem to have a problem with mites.

I think all your chickens really need is sand in a spot that will drain well. Good luck!

 

[saysfaa]

They did have an issue with some white dots clusters at the base of neck feathers in June July so i was really trying to spray them down with appropriate stuff and encourage them to use dust bath too. After 3 rounds of the spray the white dots have lessened soo much. I don’t know if it was mites or lice. i think i did see a tiny translucent white insect scurry among the feathers of a black one, but it’s really hard to tell since chickens don’t really stay still for you to look carefully.

I worried about some white dots on the feathers of my australorps. Then I realized they were the bits of feather shafts from replacing their feathers. It may not be your issue, though. I didn't see any transluscent insects. Some the bits did seem to jump around, though, maybe because they were so light weight.

Sand, like play sand or builders sand, should not clump anywhere near the point of needing to be broken up.

I think they might have at least a small preference for picking a dust bath location that is not out in wide open spaces. Not too sure about that but it might help a little.