Spring Clean your Chicken’s Coop!
With the days getting longer and spring on its way, it’s the perfect time to give your chicken coop a spring clean!
On a warm, dry day remove everything from the chicken coop including all bedding and any perches. We would suggest wearing a mask and some gloves as it can get quite dusty and dirty! Starting with the ceiling and gradually working your way down the walls and to the floor, brush and remove any dirt, dust and grime with a stiff scrubbing brush, making sure you scrub into all the corners too. A paint scraper can be great for getting into the hard to reach areas, along the slats of wooden house and to remove dried on droppings from the walls, perches and nest boxes.
Kat from Hen Weekend Chicken Boarding, Hotels for Chickens adds, “If you have a plastic chicken coop use a small brush to get in around the screw heads and bolts at bit more or you can take it apart for a thorough clean. Mites have been known to hide in tiny little spaces such as screw heads and bolts, so use a small brush to target these areas. If you can take it apart for a thorough deep clean. One of my friends is a keen gardener and she takes all my old chicken bedding and manure for her vegetable patch, perhaps I’ll receive some home-grown goodies later in the season!” Click here to see how Kat spring cleans her chicken coops.
Next, use hot water and a detergent working from the ceiling down to the floor to get rid of the dirt that’s left before using a disinfectant all around. Make sure the products you use are suitable for chickens, there are plenty of options available to purchase through the British Hen Welfare Trust’s Shop.
It is also important to give your drinkers and feeders, as well as any perches removed, a thorough wash and disinfect them too. Remember to rinse them well before allowing to dry and refilling.
As you are cleaning your chicken coop it is important to check for any damages that need to be repaired or replaced. You could also give your chicken coop a little paint or wood stain to give it a new lease of life!
Once everything is dry, perches, feeders and drinkers can be put back into the chicken coop along with fresh bedding. Dengie Fresh Bed for Chickens is made from chopped and dust extracted straw with a pine oil coating, providing anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Fresh Bed for chickens was developed in association with the British Hen Welfare Trust to provide a clean bed for your chickens that is dust free and smells fresh. Most importantly chickens love it!
“I use Dengie Fresh Bed in my chicken coops. The pine oil helps deter mites and the fresh smell is amazing! Chickens like to be clean, and I love watching them snuggle down come bedtime” adds Kat.
For more information about Dengie Fresh Bed for Chickens call the Dengie Helpline: 01621 841188 or visit our contact page.
