[beth123]

Hi

I've just cleaned my new coop ready for my ladies arriving tomorrow.  Could anyone suggest a good cleaning routine as I'm a little confused.

Kind Regards

[PaulineM]

Hi
I'm only 5 weeks into chicken keeping so I may leave some things out but basically you will need to get some poultry shield (disinfectant) and Diatom earth (natural mite killer).
I poo pick every morning, check perches for mites by removing them and looking in the crevices. Wash perches every week with PS, I completely empty coop once and month, spray with PS, let it dry. Make up a diatom slurry, (if you search this site you will find how to do that, in fact its a good idea to do that before your girls arrive) and paint it onto the ends of the perches and any other crevices and corners, let the slurry dry, then put in clean bedding. You can then sprinkle a little DE into the bedding. Its a good idea to have a bucket and small shovel to poo pick with, I also use plastic disposable gloves to poo pick in the coop as it is quicker and more precise. Hope i'm not the only one to do this,maybe I'm gross! 
Say goodbye to life as you now know it as you are about to be sucked into the chicken keeping madness 
Welcome and good luck! 

[daisy1990]

we use hemcore (as it is relatively cheap, doesn't smell, rots down quickly on compost heap and is said to be healthier for hens as it doesn't harbour mites as easily)  I change it twice a week (three hens in a coop designed for 6, who free range during the day)  Each time I change it I powder the base with red mite powder (never had red mites but they sound scary!) Every two weeks I spray the coop with the spray that is meant to kill everything else.

This seems to work well for us, but would be interested to hear what others think
Daisy

[alancane]

I tend to poo pick coop and run everyday (using a pooperscooper like for a cat tray)
Weekly, I empty the coop, clean and PS spray everywhere and leave to dry and then fill back up with shavings or easibed. Sprinkle a little Diatom on floor of coop and nest box. Slurry mix every now and then.
My run has a deep layer of woodchip that I add to weekly and remove any poop bits. When it gets to three months, I will empty and start again.

My ladies are very nosey when I am cleaning their coop.... I am sure they are telling me that I am missing a bit.

[victoria_plum]

I've only cleaned mine out once, as my girls have not been here two weeks yet!

I poo pick ever morning.  Then once a week I empty house, spray with poultry shield, and while that is damp I puff Diatomatious Earth around so it clings. I puff it under the perches and in all nooks and crannies.

Then I put in Bliss bedding and put some DE in with it.

Hope that sounds about right!

[beth123]

Thanks every one, thats given me a good idea of what to do.  They supplier who I got my coop off gave me a few freebies.  They included Johnson's poultry disinfectant, mice & lice powder and housing spray.  Are these suitable?

Thanks again.

[skelly]

We have only had our chooks for a few months now (4), but we religiously poo pick their coop everyday and their run every couple of days. Each and every week I clean out their coop completely scrubbiong everything down with a solution of water and Jeyes fluid. After this I then spray with Poultry Shield.
About once a month I spray the run area with a Jeyes solution.
To date never had a problem with mites etc. Can someone clarify tohugh, I thought that PS also killed the scary red mite?

[orchardlady]

Yes Poultry Shield does kill red mites but only the adults and only on contact. It does not kill the eggs, and has no residue effect.