I am a huge proponent of plastic nestboxes for Texas and other mite prone places, because there are no crevices in plastic for mites to hide. Plastic boxes are easy to clean, so you tend to clean them more frequently which can also help avoid a serious mite infestation in the bedding itself. I use plastic lidded storage boxes and a covered plastic kitty litter box. In the summer, I dump them out weekly, hose them down, and let them dry in the sun. Then I dust the bottom of each box with some poultry dust and add fresh bedding. Easy. No muss, no mites. Portable nestboxes also make managing a broody hen very simple. You just move the box with the hen and her nest inside to a more convenient location for brooding and hatch.
I wonder what people do when they get a mite infestation in those stationary, wooden nestboxes?
