Cleanliness

[azygous]

Do not assume that because the previous humans had no health issues from their chickens living in such filthy conditions that their flock wasn't carrying an infectious disease. Most avian diseases do not cross over to humans. The disease in my flock doesn't make their eggs unfit for human consumption, not is anyone, including me, at risk of contracting it.

What does happen with a disease such as what infects my flock is that any new chickens I introduce into my flock will be exposed to the disease and if they don't develop a resistance they can die from it. Some diseases, such as Marek's can live in the soil and in the infrastructure for decades, infecting future flocks that you install. There are no antiseptic cleaners that can eliminate these very stubborn viruses.

If you choose to ignore this danger, it's your decision, but there are simple soil tests that will give you peace of mind. Ask that they test for avian viruses.

I would absolutely shovel out the mess, vacuum the dust, and wash it down with a bleach solution or Oxine. Then I would get a good premises pest spray such as Elector PSP, and thoroughly wet down the entire coop inside, getting into all cracks and crevices. I would also take a thin blade and scrape deep in a few selected crevices and see if there are any poultry ticks living in them. The spray may not kill those.

After you know the premises are free if disease and parasites, then you will have peace of mind and can introduce a new flock and enjoy them free from worry.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Lol...I'll be back. Just posting so I don't lose this.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Hi! I have a couple of questions just to clarify...

The 20 birds; are they yours that you are bringing in? (that's what I'm understanding)...or
are they the birds that were there with the previous owners?

Are those you birds in the your pics? If they are...I would likely consider them already exposed.

If your birds haven't arrived at this new place...at the very least I would follow everyone's good advice on masks, cleaning out and disinfecting the coop and your yard.

But if it were me, and this may be extreme for some...seeing the type of walls (they look ribbed) and the floor (not smooth...open boards) and with the coop being 6X8 with holes in the walls....and taking into account you mentioned you'll be building another one or onto this coop...

I would take a match and possibly some diesel accelerant and burn it to the ground. If the yard site in the chicken area has longer grass...I'd do a controlled burn there too if you're in a rural area and if you're allowed to do this. Fire is a wonderful tool.

For me, the size of coop you have is fairly easily replaced and it'll probably take you less time to build or buy a new one than try to clean and disinfect this one. Then there are no questions as to the safety of your birds.. AND you can build one that meets your needs. If money is a question you can probably buy a second hand building that hasn't been used for poultry. This is from someone who was in charge of the disinfection in the farrowing section in a large hog production facility where we used rotated disinfectants and followed with bleach.

 

[GYSOT]

Hi! I have a couple of questions just to clarify...

The 20 birds; are they yours that you are bringing in? (that's what I'm understanding)...or
are they the birds that were there with the previous owners? They were already there on the property. Everything that I have posted existed on the property when we bought it.

Are those you birds in the your pics? If they are...I would likely consider them already exposed.

If your birds haven't arrived at this new place...at the very least I would follow everyone's good advice on masks, cleaning out and disinfecting the coop and your yard.

But if it were me, and this may be extreme for some...seeing the type of walls (they look ribbed) and the floor (not smooth...open boards) and with the coop being 6X8 with holes in the walls....and taking into account you mentioned you'll be building another one or onto this coop...

I would take a match and possibly some diesel accelerant and burn it to the ground. If the yard site in the chicken area has longer grass...I'd do a controlled burn there too if you're in a rural area and if you're allowed to do this. Fire is a wonderful tool.

For me, the size of coop you have is fairly easily replaced and it'll probably take you less time to build or buy a new one than try to clean and disinfect this one. Then there are no questions as to the safety of your birds.. AND you can build one that meets your needs. If money is a question you can probably buy a second hand building that hasn't been used for poultry. This is from someone who was in charge of the disinfection in the farrowing section in a large hog production facility where we used rotated disinfectants and followed with bleach.

Should we avoid eating the eggs until i get this under control? Like i stated previously the previous people that lived here and owned the chickens ate the eggs daily.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote: Ahhhh...ok. That makes things simpler because you're not introducing "new" birds into the situation.

I always err on the side of caution but to be honest, I'm not as knowledgeable about eggs/diseases/ residuals from the treatments mentioned earlier. I usually seek out information on here.

In cleaning things up, you may be giving dewormer/dusting/etc the birds and spraying the coop/area. In that case there may be withdrawal times and again, I'm not certain about what others have mentioned, I haven't used those products. Hopefully someone can give more specific information about withdrawal times for eggs during your cleanup.

 

[azygous]

I love the idea of burning the entire mess to the ground! Not an unrealistic solution if the local fire regs permit it.

Meanwhile, don't be afraid to eat the eggs! There really aren't many chickens diseases that will infect humans. And thorough cooking will take care of the ones that might be a threat.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

I would not panic about disease and start trying to sanitize or burn the whole coop down, smh.
I would not worry about eating the eggs either......unless you insist on spraying/dusting insecticides or other toxics around.

The only real problem I see is they didn't use much bedding so that's 98% poop.
I'd assess the birds and coop for a few weeks before attempting to 'treat' anything.
You've already got a lot on your hands with moving into a new place.
More pics of coop and run(if there is one) and birds might help with 'assessment over the internet'.

I would scoop up as much of that old litter as possible and put some fresh pine shavings down tho.
Yes, wear a dust mask.
Lock the birds outside with feed and water, shouldn't take you more than an hour or two to replace coop bedding.
Don't worry about the flooring(or anything) being 'spic and span', just get most of it out....it's a chicken coop, there's gonna be poop.
Don't use any liquid to 'clean'.....
...that can just add moisture to coop going into winter,
and can also create an environment for molds, mildews, and other organisms to grow.

They may freak out when new bedding is added.... mine do, I do a total change out once a year.....
.....they don't like change, wouldn't come back into coop until dark.
I shovel mine into a large bucket and dump on garden or out in woods or in compost pile.
This year I shoveled it out in the extra run to break down over winter.

What is your climate?
Putting your location in your profile can help folks give better answers/suggestion.

 

[Folly's place]

It's not possible to clean an old coop well enough to eliminate pathogens, so either burn it down and start over, or shovel it out, permethrin spray for bugs, and put in clean bedding. If it can't be made predator proof, or it's swampy, definitely start over. If there's Marek's disease on the property, it will be there, and ordering and isolating vaccinated chicks will work well. If the flock is infected with pathogenic mycoplasma, eliminating the whole flock, some cleaning, and three weeks without birds, will be the only solution. If the birds are improving with real food and care, get to a manageable number and enjoy! Mary

 

[GYSOT]

Hey yall. Sorry we moved yesterday and unpacked all day today. I will update yall tomorrow with pictures of current situation.

So trying to be a handyman and a dyi guy I got a pintrest (sorry to say but I did and you can't have my man card. Lol) and saw an awesome idea. We just so happen to have an extra carport on the lot that was used for tractors and other junk. Well I was going to put my lawnmower under it. So we decided to take 3/4 of one and make a chicken coop out of it.

 

[Folly's place]

Sounds like a plan! Mary