Best way to clean/sanitize an old brooder for new chicks?

[jsamson]

I have a portable wooden rabbit hutch with wire flooring that I used for some chicks earlier this year and now need to use again for a new batch. The chicks in there earlier this year were perfectly healthy so I doubt the hutch is infected with anything but I was told that it should be cleaned out and sanitized anyway. What's the best way to do this? I don't want to use anything that's toxic and could harm the new chicks but I'm assuming soap and water wouldn't do the job either. I also need something that would work on wood. Any ideas?

Btw, the hutch looks pretty similar to this:

 

[Mak]

Soap and water scrub first, then spray or wipe with a solution of 1 tsp. bleach to a quart of water. That's food grade sanitizing proportions for porous surfaces (like wood). Let it dry and air out for a couple hours. The chlorine gasses off quickly.

Hubby and I do competition chili cook offs and we learned that from various health departments where we've cooked. I have to assume if it's considered safe for food handlers, it's safe for chickens.

 

[concernedaboutchick]

Quote:
Are you sure that measurement is right? Most of the places I've found that talk about using bleach water to clean out brooders or poultry equipment say either 1 cup per gallon (8 oz. per gallon) or 10% bleach (about 13 oz. per gallon). 1 teaspoon per quart would mean 4 teaspoons in a gallon which is less than 1 ounce and would make the solution about 0.5% bleach, which doesn't seem like nearly enough...but I could be wrong, I'm pretty new to this myself

 

[Mak]

It could be that a stronger solution is generally used for stuff like brooders, etc. A tsp./ quart is for sanitizing food handling equipment, as outlined in the paperwork from most health departments where we've competed. Then again, for the type of disinfecting we're talking about here, a stronger solution would not be out of line. As long as it dries thoroughly and you are careful about not breathing in too much of it, it shouldn't be a problem. Chlorine gasses off pretty quickly.