Disinfecting portable run?

[KrisCVT]

Someone gave me a portable run- one of those cheapish- precision pet product ones I think....wood frame with hardware cloth. I am going to use it to hopefully pen up my ducks at night. There have not been chickens in this run for a couple of months...should I disinfect it? Would spraying it with diluted bleach or ammonia and letting it sit in the sun be enough?

 

[cavemanrich]

The bleach surely will kill most things on the surface. I personally would try to use it full strength. It is only 5% chlorine, but do use precautions like rubber gloves. Brush it on or spray it on. After it dries, you can just hose rinse the whole cage/run with water. What is your concern to disinfect it??? After it was not in use for extended time and exposed to the elements. Rain, sun, ; I personally do not think there is much danger. Please note this exception;; If you know that who ever was using it before lost their flock to some disease, like cholera or something such, then disinfect for sure. Do not use ammonia and bleach at same time. DANGEROUS FUMES DEVELOP.


NEXT QUESTION.. WILL YOUR DUCKS BE SAFE FROM PREDATORS AT NIGHT INSIDE THIS RUN???

WISHING YOU BEST..

 

[KrisCVT]

The bleach surely will kill most things on the surface.  I personally would try to use it full strength.    It is only 5% chlorine,  but  do use precautions like rubber  gloves.  Brush it on or spray it on.    After it dries,  you can just hose rinse  the whole  cage/run with water.    What is your concern to disinfect it???   After it was not in use for extended time and  exposed to the elements. Rain, sun, ;  I personally do not think there is much danger.      Please note this exception;;  If you know that who ever was using it before lost their flock to some disease, like cholera or something such, then disinfect for sure.   [COLOR=FF0000]Do not use ammonia and bleach at same time.  DANGEROUS FUMES DEVELOP. [/COLOR]
Thanks! Yup, I know about the fumes... lol. Wasn't going to use bleach and ammonia together.
My concern was external parasites.. mites, etc maybe hiding in the wood? My birds are free of them so far, so I don't want to introduce. I know this person didn't take care of their birds very well- and they all met their demise after being left out unattended and got snatched by predators.


[COLOR=FF0000]NEXT QUESTION..   WILL YOUR DUCKS BE SAFE FROM PREDATORS AT NIGHT INSIDE THIS RUN???  [/COLOR]

WISHING YOU BEST.. 

Will work on predator proofing. Lucky so far in that our only lurkers have been hawks and rats. Once we get it in place, will figure out how to secure it. This may not work and they may go back to living in the coop with the chickens!

 

[MeepBeep]

After cleaning with a hose and or power sprayer, set it on the driveway and fill up a bleach friendly 1 or 2 gallon pump sprayer (or a cheap one that is immediately flushed and cleaned with fresh water) and spray it down, no need to rinse, after 24 hours the bleach will have evaporated and left nothing toxic behind, especially if out in the sun...

You can use full strength as suggested, but it's really overkill IMO, one or two cups of bleach per gallon sprayed and repeated a few times (aka longer exposure time) to keep it wet longer will work just as well as a full strength single application in most cases...