Keeping Your Chicken Coop Clean | Chicken Care | Chickens | Guide (2024)
A weekly job as an owner of chickens is to clean out your hens chicken coop. Just like we clean our houses every week your hens will appreciate a clean environment to catch their 40 winks and lay eggs. It is important to keep your chicken coop clean as a build-up of droppings will cause a build-up of ammonia, and this ammonia can be damaging to your hens respiratory system and eyes.
The Eglus just need a good scrub and a wash down to keep them squeaky clean
Once a week you should remove all the droppings and replace their bedding. Some houses will need some scrubbing to get rid of all the muck. Our Eglus are all easy cleaning chicken coops, and can be hosed down. Make sure your coop is dry before putting fresh bedding in. You can sprinkle Mite Powders or Diatom Powder around to prevent any bugs making a home in your chicken coop. If you can move your coop to a new area then you can do this when you have cleaned the coop.
Top Tip: When you have replaced the bedding sprinkling around BioDri will help to sanitise the litter, make it last longer, and it reduces the growth of bacteria and reduces ammonia from the droppings. It is harmless to your chickens and is environmentally friendly.
See how quick and easy it is to clean out an Eglu Cube chicken coop!
Types Of Bedding
There are several types of floor litter that can be used. The best floor litters are ones that are dust free, and absorbent. Bedding can be a matter of personal preference, and affordability. As long as it is safe for your hens then the choice is yours. Omlet stocks all the types of bedding listed below, click here to choose your bedding.
Straw - This is usually used in the nesting boxes. It can be used as floor litter but it isn’t particularly absorbent and can become damp quickly. It also compacts easily, and needs to be changed more regularly.
Wood Shavings - This is a good bedding that is a popular choice as it's fairly cheap. It is very absorbent and can keep your chicken coop smelling fresh. Be sure to buy dust extracted wood shavings, otherwise your chickens will suffer from respiratory problems. It is also important that the wood shavings are derived from soft woods such as pine.
Chopped Cardboard - Chopped cardboard is absorbent and easy to clean out. It is dust free and will compost easily.
Aubiose - This is made from natural hemp and is dust free. It is very absorbent and will compost easily. This is becoming a popular choice with poultry keepers as it has fly repellent qualities.
Easichick - This bedding is made from recycled wood and was designed specifically for birds. It is very absorbent, and doesn’t blow around.
Once a year your chicken coop will need a thorough clean. A good time of year to do this is at the end of summer when the weather's still nice. It is best to do a deep clean on a sunny day as the coop will dry quicker and the UV rays can kill bacteria.
It's easy to replace your chickens' bedding and they'll really appreaciate it
When carrying out a deep clean you will need to take apart the coop and remove all the internal parts. If you have a pressure washer, and blast with this in all the nooks and crannies is a great way to clean the coop. When washing the coop make sure you are very thorough. If you don’t have a pressure washer you can use a detergent to scrub the house clean, and then rinse with water. You can use disinfectants such as Poultry Shield or Johnsons Clean And Safe to ensure all any nasties remaining are killed. Click here to browse Omlets coop cleaning products. After a deep clean leave the coop to dry. The longer you can leave the coop the better.
Spray your entire coop down with your hose and or a cleaner of your choice. Increasing the pressure on areas with caked-on poop can soften it up and make it easier to scrape off later. Remember, do not use bleach! Scrub everything down; use your brush and scraper to scrub off any caked-on poop.
Spray your entire coop down with your hose and or a cleaner of your choice. Increasing the pressure on areas with caked-on poop can soften it up and make it easier to scrape off later. Remember, do not use bleach! Scrub everything down; use your brush and scraper to scrub off any caked-on poop.
How often you should be cleaning a chicken coop? You should provide fresh food and fresh water every day, and you should clean the bedding out once a week or once a month(the deeper the bedding layer the less often you have to clean it out). It's best practice to do a total clean-out at least twice a year.
Even with regular maintenance, wood shavings will still need to be completely replaced about every 3 to 4 months. Having to clean out the coop that frequently can be time-consuming and may build up expenses depending on how many bags of wood shavings you need to buy for each cleaning.
When you clean out your chicken coop, take all that litter and put it in your compost pile. We keep our pile away from the coop and the house, but anywhere is fine really. The bedding and the chicken litter will break down into something that's very healthy for your garden soil.
Do not use bleach, as it is far too harsh for animals to bear and can be toxic to the chickens if it hasn't dried completely. Vinegar, however, has very similar cleaning properties without the harsh effects. Mix equal parts vinegar and water to create a cleaning solution and mop up the area for an all-natural cleaning.
Even if you don't get a new flock of birds this year, it's a good idea to thoroughly clean out your coop on occasion. I like to do a super deep clean each spring. It just makes me feel better, so I therefore assume it makes my chickens feel better.
Chickens also need periods of dark, so they can get adequate sleep. I love the summer months because my chickens just know when to go to bed. They slowly meander into the coop around dusk, get their last drink or snack, and jump up on their perch.
Chicken predators can be anything from wild animals like hawks, foxes, raccoons or snakes, to neighborhood dogs and cats. Being vigilant against predators of all species is the best way to keep your flock protected.
As with deer, however, there are plenty of herbs that can be incorporated into the landscape that chickens will avoid. These include: borage, calendula (pot marigold), catnip, chives, feverfew, lavender, marjoram, Mexican sage, peppermint and spearmint, rosemary, sage, salvias, St.John's wort, tansy and yarrow.
Floor bedding helps to keep the floor clean and makes cleaning poop out of the coop much easier. It keeps poop from becoming stuck to the floor and helps control the odor within the coop. Untreated wood sawdust, wood shavings, or chopped straw makes an ideal bedding material.
Hemp litter also can help with odor reduction, produces very little dust, and is a high-carbon material that breaks down quickly in compost. Coarse construction sand (not play sand) may be a good bedding option. The material drains well and is very economical because it does not need to be replaced often.
Do not use bleach, as it is far too harsh for animals to bear and can be toxic to the chickens if it hasn't dried completely. Vinegar, however, has very similar cleaning properties without the harsh effects. Mix equal parts vinegar and water to create a cleaning solution and mop up the area for an all-natural cleaning.
Instead of getting rid of the dust, it's a good idea to sprinkle generous amounts of Dalmatius earth around the inside of the coop, especially after it's been cleaned. Also, sprinkle a bit inside the nesting boxes.
So what materials are best for chicken coop floors? Several different flooring materials are suitable for chicken coops, including concrete, plywood, and linoleum. Good chicken coop flooring is safe, predator- and rodent-proof, durable, and easy to clean.
That manure should be scraped off of the boards daily. Once the manure is removed, if necessary, I add some fresh bedding. Chickens shred everything into tiny bits and eventually both the shavings and manure will turn into fine dust.
Introduction: My name is Stevie Stamm, I am a colorful, sparkling, splendid, vast, open, hilarious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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