Cleaning a chicken coop at regular intervals is extremely important because your flock can suffer from infection risk due to not cleaning the coop. If you neglect to clean your coop, you will face your chickens suffering from disease, and even they can die. But, on the other hand, the clean coop can’t spread germs. And thus your chicken will remain safe and away from disease. Thus to keep your chicken safe, you need to know how often should you clean a chicken coop.
A coop owner regularly needs to clean the cage’s floors, nesting boxes, and chicken bedding. Doing all these will kill the germs, and your chicken flock will remain safe and healthy. However, bacteria and other germs will grow in the coop if you fail to clean it regularly. So to keep your hens safe and healthy, you require to clean the coop and take care of your chicken regularly.
However, throughout this article, we will tell you how often you should clean your chicken coop, what you should do to keep your flock healthy, and many more things. So, let’s dive into the discussion:
What To Do To Keep The Flock Healthy?
Keeping the flock healthy and safe is the prime concern for all chicken owners. Only a healthy chicken can provide you with enough eggs and meat and can help you to grow your business. However, to keep your hens healthy, you should do the following things:
- Clean and disinfect your coops
- Wash the eggs
- Follow the particular coop cleaning methods
- Don’t keep the chicken poop for many days.
How To Clean And Disinfect The Chicken Coop?
Following the 6 steps below, you can clean and disinfect your chicken coop. Those steps are:
Step 1:
Take the hens out of the cage and keep them in the enclosure temporarily
Step 2:
Now clear out your coop’s every removable thing, including the drinkers, nesting box trays, feeders, and perches. Depending on your coop’s size removing all these may require some time.
After completing this job, scrape out the chicken’s feces, dust, dirt, cobwebs, or coop’s other materials. Don’t forget to wear a face mask and a pair of gloves while cleaning your coops.
Step 3:
Remove all the dust and debris using the hose and spray. After doing the spray, if still, any debris is left on the coop, repeat step one. Also, to get rid of your coop’s mites, you can use boiling water during the entire cleaning process.
Step 4:
Now it’s time to disinfect your coop and nesting boxes. Vinegar and other natural coop cleaner are potent agents to disinfect the coop and nesting boxes. But don’t use bleach. Bleach is a very toxic element, and it is harmful to your chicken, also.
Create a cleaning solution by mixing water and vinegar in equal parts. And for all-natural cleaning, mop up your coop. Use these cleaning solutions on your hen drinkers and feeders and keep them in the sun to completely dry.
Step 5:
Wait for the nest boxes and coop to dry completely. Again, keeping these in the sunlight will help to disinfect these items properly.
Step 6:
Now, move back everything in place in your coop. On your coop’s floor, keep some fresh or clean bedding. And then put back the drinkers and dried feeders. Then finally, move your chickens back into their home. After doing all these or completing these steps, don’t forget to clean your hands properly.
Also Read: How To Choose The Right Materials For A Long-Lasting And Easy-to-Maintain Chicken Coop
Why Do You Need To Clean Your Chicken Coop?
If you don’t clean your backyard chicken coop, you can suffer from Salmonella illness. Most infections happen when you handle your hen flocks and their fecal matter gets on your hand. Then when you touch your mouth, most of the ingestion accidentally happens. So, to avoid the spreading of germs and illness, you have to clean your chicken coop.
Moreover, whenever you walk through the coops to collect eggs, you will not smell bad if your coop remains clean. So, cleaning the coop is essential not only for you but also for your hen flocks. The clean coops ensure a clean environment and reduce the bacteria on your eggs.
Also, if your chicken lays an egg in a clean place, you will require less time to wash your eggs. Most notably, changes will be easily visible in a clean coop, like hen droppings. Thus you can provide the necessary treatment to them and can take action.
How Often Should You Clean A Chicken Coop?
At least once a month, you should deep clean your chicken coop’s bedding layer. And at least once a week, you must clean the coop’s bedding. Also, you should supply fresh water and food for your flock every day. So you should clean your coop twice a year, and it’s a best practice.
Cleaning the coop is not always easy or fun. But still, you have no other option but to clean the coop to keep your hens healthy. For a chicken coop owner, it is the most important task that he should not neglect.
The dirty coop spreads disease; even your chicken can stop laying eggs and get sick. Depending on your coop’s layout and size, cleaning the coop can be difficult or easy. However, whenever you see dirt, dust, or cobwebs in your coop, it’s the best time to clean it.
Also Read: The Ultimate Chicken Coop Maintenance Checklist: Monthly, Quarterly, And Annual Tasks
3 Ways To Keep Your Chicken Coop Clean
Your chicken flock will remain healthy and safe only when you keep your coop clean. Moreover, you will get more eggs from a well-maintained chicken coop. To keep your chicken coops clean, you must follow the 3 ways below:
1. Trap Method
The trap method is the first way of keeping your coop safe and clan. In this method, on your coop floor, you have to lay down a tarp and then cover it according to your bedding choice. During changing the trap, just fold it and take it near the waste pile. Then, clean off everything from the trap, and disinfect it before putting it back correctly.
2. Deep Litter Method
So, the next one is the deep litter method, and following this way, you can ensure your chicken’s extra warmth. With a thick base, this method starts by allowing your litter to build up the compost. The manure and litter compost on your coop’s floor ensures maximum warmth for your chickens.
Also, following this way, you can get more time to clean your coop’s bedding. So, you don’t need to clean the bedding in a week if you follow this method. However, if you choose the right chicken coop bedding material, cleaning the bedding will be easier for you.
3. Natural Cleaning Agents
So the third option is to use natural cleaning agents like the water and vinegar mixture to clean your chicken coop. For disinfecting your coop, it’s a very organic and safe way. Also, according to many chicken farmers, vinegar helps to maintain your chicken’s good health and increases the egg-laying capacity of your chicken.
FAQs
How often should I change my chicken coop bedding?
Every 2-3 weeks, we recommend you change your chicken coop’s bedding. Surprisingly changing the bedding is easy. However, your coop’s bedding will last 6 months if you follow the deep litter method.
What is the best way to clean a chicken coop?
Spray your entire chicken coop with a cleaner or hose of your choice. Soften up the coop by increasing the pressure on the caked-on poop areas, making it easier to scrape off later. Avoid using bleach to clean your coop, as it harms your chicken.
Do you have to clean up chicken poop?
Yes! You have to clean up the chicken poop to maintain your chicken’s good health. Chicken coop’s routine cleaning is the best way to keep your flock safe and healthy.
How often do you clean chicken coop poop?
Frequently cleaning the chicken coop poop will be better for keeping your hens safe. Also, thoroughly clean your chicken coop at least once a year.
Wrap Up
So, already we discussed the A-Z details of how often should you clean a chicken coop and how you can do that. Now you will able to clean your coops following our methods mentioned above. If you want a good outcome from your chicken business, you must ensure that your hens are safe and healthy. Only a healthy chicken will lay eggs perfectly, and they will help you to grow your overall business.
Actually, a chicken coop needs daily, weekly, and yearly cleaning and maintenance. Every day you must clean off the leftover water and food. Once a week, don’t forget to clean the old droppings. Also, using fresh and good quality material replace the old bedding. And conduct a thorough deep clean at least once a year.
