Hello everyone, I don't mean to be a pest myself, but I have a continuing maggot problem and I need some advice. I love this site, forum and the people here...it's truly addicting! I know very little about raising chickens...I'm learning as I go and I want to do everything the "right" way for the chickens. I have a continuing maggot problem that you can read about here: http://chickenscratchfreerangethoughts.blogspot.com/2011/05/fly-larvae.html?m=0 and any suggestions would be much appreciated. How can you keep maggots away without completely cleaning the coop every day? Are pesticides safe to use around chickens? And am I supposed to be okay with the maggot infestation in the compost pile? I mean, they're supposed to be there, right? I just don't know how to fight this living in such a wooded area in the heat of Louisiana. I didn't have problems like this in the cooler months. Thank you in advance!
Hey! Welcome to the forum. Cute blog layout; I like that. I'm confused as to your setup? So you have the chickens in something like a dog crate? And then that's sitting on another box? I understand that you're trying to deter a predator, but I don't believe that would work. How long until they're in the coop? Are there other chickens in the coop preventing you from putting these guys in there? Could you sort of - tractor it? If you move it around frequently, maybe you wouldn't have such a fly problem? The chickens don't step in where the maggots are growing? (maggots is a TERRIBLE word, I agree) I'm surprised they aren't eating them.
The eggs won't hatch it the droppings are dry. Put a layer of lime or DE under the wire where the droppings are falling. You could also mix in some Sevin dust
Quote:It's just a bad setup. I didn't intend for them to be in there for more than a week, but new and more pressing issues have delayed the building of the coop. We just built a tractor for them yesterday and I hope you're right, that by moving it we will have less of a problem! Thank you for the reply. The weather has been rainy and hot and I guess the combination is ideal for fly reproduction! The chickens don't come into contact with them, otherwise they'd gobble them up! I hope to find some DE locally before the coop is finished so I can dust it down. Speaking of the more pressing issues, we have honey bees in our house wall! Coop delays again! They are very safe, happy and secure in their new temporary home while we deal with another "issue" in the meantime. Wish me luck! And thank you again!
Switch to sand for litter and plan in some drainage, if the area is dry, the flys will move elsewhere. Maybe go oversize on the roof to keep the rain out better. How's the ventilation, moving air will also carry away the moisture and help dry things out
Good luck with the bees - having them in the house wall is not good but if you contact your local bee keepers association, I am sure someone would come remove the colony for you. As for the flies and maggots, drying out the waste and the ground with either sand or DE are terrific ideas. I am surprised you have maggots in your compost - we never get them there as the compost pile is just too hot. You may need to do something to heat up your compost. Or it may just be that you are in a terrifically humid area and you are going to have maggots.
I use DE in the coop and once a week I over dust a little and every two week I clean out the coop. I do not have a problem. I fact I get very few flies in the coop.
Ok, I'm a newbie as well. We have a horrible maggot issue and until the bigger coop is built, we have to deal with this somehow! What is "DE"? & can it be put on the coop floor that the chickens walk on??
