Maggots in nesting straw ......

samanthahobbs · **Posted:** Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:27 pm

I clean out my chicken coop most weeks. Sometimes I just pull out the messed straw from the top (and leave the good straw) and then top up if I am running short on time or daylight.
Today when cleaning there were maggots all through the straw. YUK!!
There was a wet patch in the area the girls usually lay. I assume it was from where they have laid and then smashed the egg when moving around.
(I don't believe the nesting box is tall enough for them to stand up properly when laying - which is something I have to fix when I build their new coop.)
There were no maggots last weekend when I cleaned.

I havn't seen this before?
Any suggestions anyone?

I am a bit worried.

Parklands · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:59 am **Posts:** 1

I have had maggots a couple of times but only when it warms up or is humid and the flies come for the moist poop so in the warmer months I now clean them twice a week and I find it stops the flies eggs from hatching

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

maggots can be a regular thing in the nesting straw especially thru summer - the girls poop and sometimes break an egg in the nest = perfect for flies to lay eggs in = maggots

bear in mind that maggots dont just eat rotten flesh - they can and do eat healthy flesh - AND they actually kill the good flesh as they eat supplying themselves with more food - you need to keep the straw fresh clean and dry or you may end up with fly blown birds that are being eaten from the inside out = worst case scenario

just change the straw regularly and all will be well

mummaroo · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:44 am

If you also add ag lime (not Garden lime,they are different)to the nest and mix it through the straw when you change the nest it will stop lice and also stop maggots developing.If the nest gets damp with poop or moisture the lime actives and stops everything in there tracks.It also wont hurt your birds.I throw it around my pens for lice and kill worms on the ground.It is all round fantastic. If you get boggy wet ground after rain it will sweeten the ground and help to get rid of that wet poop & boggy ground smell.

RayRhodes · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:04 pm **Posts:** 1

Whats the mix ratio for the lime please?

mummaroo · **Posted:** Thu Oct 20, 2011 6:26 am

Just sprinkle it all through the straw.Not to heavy,a couple of handfuls will do.

Hens and Hobbits · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:51 am

With visions of fly blown chooks, may I ask a silly question? Could you put fly wire over the chicken wire, or will that hinder the coop's ventilation?

I have seen some rabbit hutches with fly wire added to their construction and wondered if you could do the same to a chook coop...

Not looking forward to the summer and the flies, especially the March/horse flies.

purefeather · **Joined:** Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:36 pm **Posts:** 736

Yes H&H, it will hinder air flow and the reason for fly wire on rabbit hutches is to deter mozzies spreading myxo.
Lot's of flies and maggots are a good indicator of an imbalance in the environment of your chook run/coop, so best to use the tools nature provides to point out problems occuring or about to.

Hens and Hobbits · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:51 pm

purefeather wrote:

Yes H&H, it will hinder air flow and the reason for fly wire on rabbit hutches is to deter mozzies spreading myxo.
Lot's of flies and maggots are a good indicator of an imbalance in the environment of your chook run/coop, so best to use the tools nature provides to point out problems occuring or about to.

Thanks, purefeather,

Any advice as to what would be the best way to control the flies in summer would be appreciated.

mummaroo · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:50 am

I spray my sheds out for mosquitoes and lice every few weeks with Malawash.I spay all the timber beams,flooring,and the ceilings and corners.I mix up it up in a 5L spray bottle.I also use lime in all my pens as it also kills lice,all hatching larvae of any form.It also keeps odours to a minimum and after rain I always throw some through the pens.This also stops the flies.All nest boxes have a mix of lime and Pestene powder in them.When I cant get pestene I get pyrethrum powder.All broodies get a regular sprinkling of either.

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