Another Newbie with a used horrible dirty coop

[Folly's place]

WEAR A GOOD FACE MASK when you are doing all this cleaning, to protect yourself from the dust and crud you'll be inhaling otherwise. Realize that you can make the coop better, but it can't be truly made sanitary. Do your best anyway, get the big hunks out. Keep it empty for at least two to three weeks, and spray with insecticide (Sevin or Poultry Dust) . Talk to the owner of the chickens who just left; ask about any illnesses she may have to report. I'd plan on getting a few Marek's vaccinated chicks at first, and giving it this year to see how they all do. If all is well, you'll have a great start! Mary

 

[greasemonkey88]

Thank you very much...could you explain a little more about the board under the roost...can't get a picture of it. thank you again.

Something kind of like this. It can be just a painted piece of plywood, a reused old section of countertop, or something of the sort. Have one with a lip and you can contain a level layer of sweet PDZ. Or keep it painted and just remove it and spray it off with a hose. Either way poop boards are really cool for cleaning but can also be used to see certain conditions that cause blood or other nasties in there poop and the shavings or straw will hide it but the poop board catches it all and makes it easy to spot.

 

[greasemonkey88]

Here's a link to a thread that has great info on poop boards.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/621363/poop-board-convert-warning-graphic-gross-poop-pictures

 

[tbiM20]

If you feel like you need to do a strong disinfection, bleach is fine to use. Bleach, when exposed to air and light, it breaks down to harmless salt, oxygen, and a few ions, so there are no "residues" or anything harmful left. You can dilute as you wish and spray liberally, let the building air out thoroughly afterwards to dry. Just don't use it on metal, and keep off of skin, obviously.

For the wet floor, can you tell where water is coming in? You might have to check the exterior to see if there are any puddles against the walls, or places where water seeps through, and fix those as you find them. Another option is something like a stall liner used for horses - a big rubber mat that you lay on the bare ground and then put your bedding on top.

 

[Athena116699]

Thank you. The floor is dry...that is one of the reasons I don't want to dig out what is there. I don't want to create move problems.

 

[Fancychooklady]

http://www.neogen.com/animalsafety/pdf/ProdInfo/Tech_Bulletins/VirkonS.pdf

Being as you don't know what the health status of the previous occupants were , I would remove all of the hay ( mites and lice love hay ) , it's also very important to remove all feathers and dandruff ( mareks ) bring in a load of sand for the floor, replace the perches and spray the entire coop out with Virkon .

Better to be safe than sorry .


http://www.lienerts.com.au/content/media/PDF Fact Sheets/Biosecurity Products/NEW Virkon S.pdf

 

[Folly's place]

Any cleaning will help, but there's no way that you can get Marek's disease organisms out of that coop or property if it's present. Use whatever disinfectant you want to work with; bleach is the least expensive and works fine. That's why I think Marek's vaccinated chicks are the way to go. Mary

 

[Fancychooklady]

Better to be safe than sorry! Bleach is not found to be effective , better off with activated oxine or Virkon . IMO.
There's no saying that you will ever have to deal with any of these nasties, but you really do need to get rid of any bedding that could be harbouring dander from the previous occupants.
This article explains how to best protect your flock from mareks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq