Disinfecting a used coop

[zinnia5117]

I am set to start building a coop today, but my chickens are getting so big that we are planning to get a used coop to use as a temporary setup so they can spend more time outside. Hopefully this will also be a chicken tractor later.

I am planning to scrub the whole used coop with bleach solution and let it dry , then give it a few days before putting the chickens in there. But, I read somewhere about quarantining new chickens for two weeks before introducing them to a flock. Should I also wait two weeks before putting my healthy chickens in this coop, or is it more an issue of diseases that can survive in a live chicken but may be no match for bleach solution? Hoping that three days would be long enough, but if not, I certainly would rather wait than jeopardize their health since they’ve done well so far.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Does that mean you have an existing flock the you are adding new birds to?

 

[DobieLover]

Does that mean you have an existing flock the you are adding new birds to?

I believe the OP has chicks rapidly outgrowing their brooder and is looking to sanitize a used coop to put them in while they finish building their new coop. The concern is about what disease organisms might linger after a bleach cleaning. Should they use a similar wait time that one would use during live bird quarantine.

I would personally use Oxine with citric acid activator to sanitize the coop. After it was dry from that, you could bed it down and move the chicks in right away.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Should I also wait two weeks before putting my healthy chickens in this coop, or is it more an issue of diseases that can survive in a live chicken but may be no match for bleach solution?

Quarantine is about parasites and diseases that are in living chickens. It has nothing to do with cleaning a coop.

Scrub or spray that coop with your bleach solution. Get if in nooks and crannies. You could rinse it off after a few minutes, the bleach should have done its job that quickly. Letting it dry before you rinse is even better. If it has good ventilation you probably don't need to rinse it, just let it air out so all smell is gone before you put the chicks in it. That could be later the same day if you rinse it or maybe a day or two later if you don't.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

@DobieLover
What on Earth is Oxine? Might you have a link?

I also have a dirty icky coop awaiting a new life (I'm thinking for rabbits instead) and just pressure washing it doesn't make for a lack of ickies hiding in there.


OP, I would personally use a coop safe paint for any coop not yet coated after a disinfect is done. A good fresh coat should make future cleaning easier and help reduce mite and lice risk.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have never washed a coop. Broom it out well, add fresh bedding and add chickens. If the coop has been empty for a long period of time, I would not worry about it. If the coop actually contained diseased chickens, I would not use it.

Mrs K

 

[DobieLover]

@DobieLover
What on Earth is Oxine? Might you have a link?

I also have a dirty icky coop awaiting a new life (I'm thinking for rabbits instead) and just pressure washing it doesn't make for a lack of ickies hiding in there.


OP, I would personally use a coop safe paint for any coop not yet coated after a disinfect is done. A good fresh coat should make future cleaning easier and help reduce mite and lice risk.

Oxine is a very potent oxidizer. It destroys the biofilms of pathogens with 10 minute contact time. You mix the oxine concentrate with the citric acid and allow it to activate. Add clean water and mix, put in a sprayer and spray all surfaces of pre-cleaned coop, feeder and waterer with the solution and allow it to dry. Re-wash feeders and waterers with soap and water then rinse.
Once everything is dry, re-bed.
It is good for annual deep cleaning.
Some don't do that. Others have battled Marek's and other nasties and look to keep pathogens in check.
I use it preventively for annual deep clean prior to the onset of winter.

This is where I bought mine. You have to purchase the packet of citric acid too.

 

[zinnia5117]

Thanks so much everyone! @DobieLover you are spot on, the chicks are definitely too big for their brooder now. I will look into Oxine, but if I can’t get it today will probably do bleach to start. We are going to get the used coop this morning so I will ask if there have ever been chickens in it that have died from disease.

 

[Mrs. K]

Do rinse well, chlorine bleach can give off fumes, and fumes are hard on chickens. And dry out well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have never washed a coop. Broom it out well, add fresh bedding and add chickens. If the coop has been empty for a long period of time, I would not worry about it. If the coop actually contained diseased chickens, I would not use it.

Mrs K

If I were to bring a used coop or other equipment from offsite I would sanitize it, my choice is bleach but other things work. Why chance bringing in something if it is easy to avoid?

If I had a used coop on site, I'd just broom it out and do whatever repairs or modifications it might need unless it had been used in the past few months. Then I might sanitize it. There are two different reasons for this. First, if you have certain diseases or parasites in that coop you have them in the soil or other places. There is nothing wrong with sterilizing the coop but it is extremely unlikely that will stop Marek's, worms, coccidiosis, or anything else. If they are in your environment, they are in your environment. The environment encompasses much more than just the coop.

The other reason is that I believe in strengthening their immunity system rather than trying to keep them in a sterile environment. I would have been feeding them dirt from that area from their first few days in the brooder to get them started on a strong immune system. I think you get stronger healthier birds that way.

I remember a thread for several years back where a lady in this situation found some insect eggs in the old coop. They were obviously not mite or lice eggs, nothing that would harm the chickens. The mass response on the forum was clean, clean, destroy, destroy, sanitize, sanitize. My thought was that the chickens would have loved chasing down and eating whatever hatched from those eggs. I know I have a weird mindset.