Cleaning your chicken coop helps keep your birds healthy and reduces unpleasant odors. Chickens suffer from many pests and diseases, including salmonella, Marek̵7;s disease, E.coli, mycoplasma, mites and respiratory viruses. Some chicken diseases can be passed on to humans. Clean your chicken coop every week or more often, according to the level of odor or dirt, and disinfect it thoroughly every year. Seal gaps and cracks in your chicken coop during its annual clean to help prevent mice and other creatures from entering.
Things You'll Need
- Gloves
- Stiff broom or brush
- Scraper, such as a paint scraper
- Chlorine bleach
- Dust mask
- Scrubbing brush
- Caulk or sealant
- Dish detergent
- Sprayer
Instructions
Weekly Clean
Put on gloves and remove the feed and water containers from your chicken coop. Brush the litter out of the coop with a stiff broom or brush, and scrape chicken droppings off all the surfaces with a scraper.
Empty the feed and water containers and wash them in a solution of 1 tablespoon of bleach diluted in 1 gallon of hot water. Rinse the containers thoroughly in plenty of clean water.
Spread new, clean litter in the coop and put the feed and drink containers back.
Annual Clean
Put on gloves and a dust mask, and open all the windows and vents in your chicken coop in the spring. Sweep the used litter out of your chicken coop. Remove and empty the feed and water containers. Scrape off the droppings, and scrub all the surfaces with hot water and detergent. You may need to leave heavily soiled areas to soak for 10 to 20 minutes. Wash the feed and water containers, and leave the containers and coop to dry.
Check the chicken coop for gaps and cracks. Fill gaps wider than a nickel with caulk or sealant, and leave the material to set.
Dilute chlorine bleach at a rate of 1 tablespoon per 1 gallon of water, and spray all the coop surfaces. Leave the coop to dry, and spread fresh litter. Return the clean feed and water containers to their places.