Chickens and Hens

How to clean and sanitize the chicken coop in speed

Nobody loves dirt, not even the hens! Living in an unhealthy and dirty environment increases the chances for your chickens to acquire diseases and as a possible consequence to die. The hens go to the search for clean places, if you oblige to stay in a hen-house dirty, their level of anxiety increases and their immune defenses decrease, thus becoming prone to disease. It then becomes evident that in addition to cleaning, the hen needs moments of Relaxing such as running around in the garden.

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When to clean it

Il chicken coop needs both of one daily cleaning, therefore generic (such as removing excrement), and a more thorough cleaning to be done at least once a year, where disinfection must also be done. Disinfect the chicken coop it is quite a long activity so running it every day becomes a bit complex. In case you want to disinfect once a year, the best time to make it is autumn, so that the chicken coop is ready for winter. If, on the other hand, you want to do two disinfections a year, the best times are spring and autumn. These precautions concern thehygiene of the chicken coop as a whole, another treatment is required for the litter. The droppings produced by hens are a source of bacteria and possible diseases, so it becomes necessary to do a more frequent cleaning, ie weekly. Taking these points into account, one of the discriminating factors to be taken into consideration when choosing the type of chicken coop is the ease of disassembly, opting for a completely removable chicken coop and washable will greatly facilitate the performance of these tasks. By speeding up all these steps, your chickens will thank you!

Also 'external hygiene needs our attention, the area outside the hen house, composed mainly of materials as natural as possible, such as wild grasses or strips of lawn, needs a frequent cleaning in order to remove all excrement.

polly classic grayHow to proceed with disinfection

To disinfect the chicken coop it is necessary to empty it completely and keep the hens away from their house for a couple of weeks, during which they must be placed in an equipped area that hosts them during the disinfection period.

Before use, disinfectant products must be diluted paying attention to the correct dosage, normally indicated on the label. The products must be sprayed in every part of the hen house, with the help of a backpack pump. Following this action, the chicken coop must remain clear to ensure that the disinfection works effectively, but above all to prevent the hens from breathing in the fumes of chemicals.

As for accessories, such as nests and drinking troughs, they must be washed with hot water and disinfectants. If there are wooden accessories, they need a deeper cleaning, done with the help of a hydro-cleaner. As the wood is highly porous, in fact, the passage of the disinfectant with a hydro-cleaner is not enough, but when dry it would be advisable to pass a non-toxic liquid sheath.

If you are not fond of chemical disinfectants, lime is also a good method.

Il type of lime to be used is strictly that idrata, Also called slaked lime. In fact, we must be very careful in choosing the lime the "living" one is highly caustic if it comes into contact with the body and attacks organic materials too much. Then use ONLY SILLED LIME! Easily affordable and low cost.

The main benefits that this disinfection methodology involves are:

  • Incorporation of pathogens and dirt nested in chicken coops,
  • Elimination of humidity in the chicken coop, which favors the creation of bacteria.

 

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