Chicken Dust in my Basement. Help!!

[lhousesoccer]

I guess I should have planned further ahead, and had my coop DONE before the chicks arrived, but it just didn't work out that way. I got 12 chicks on May 7 (day olds) and put them in a 2.5' x 2.5' x 4' plywood box I made in the basement. I lined it with newspaper and about 2 inches of wood shavings, and put a heat lamp over it. They've been very happy there while I've been frantically trying to finish the coop. Now that they're 12 days old or so though, I noticed yesterday that when I walked past the box in the basement, I left tracks in the floor! Then I started noticing the layer of fine dust over just about everything. My wife isn't impressed.

When I get them outside (hopefully this weekend), what's the best way to tackle this cleanup? Will a shopvac just resuspend it all? Or should I wipe everything down with water? Or both? In hindsight, I should have hung a curtain all the way around a small area in the basement and at least limited it to just one spot.

Oh well. Live and learn. These are my first chicks ever!

 

[hipeatall]

I just booted my chicks outside at 5 weeks old... all 26 of them... eek! I had them out in my studio and it was incredibly dusty. I vacuumed and mopped alot while they were inside to keep the dust issue down - my hubby is not a fan of chickens so I kept it real tidy. I have to say that once I got them out the dust issue went away after a couple of vacuum / mop sessions. The chicks are happy to be out as well. Do you have a heat source out in the coop? Even with the warmer weather lately in Texas, I was still a little worried about putting mine outside in the coop at 5 weeks old because I don't have a heat source out there for them. Good luck with you chicks!

 

[lhousesoccer]

Wow - I can't imagine keeping them inside the house for another 3.5 weeks. I need to get mine outside as soon as possible to take care of this dust issue! Thanks for the tips. I'll just have to vacuum and mop and wipe. What a pain. But the chicks are so cute and fun. I'm in Vermont, and it's still a bit cool out at night (down into the low 40's), but I will have power in the coop and will put the heat lamp out there. Thanks again!

 

[Tikka]

Are you able to change the bedding frequently? Not just add more, but dump everything out?

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Nothing stops the dander or the shavings dust and it just gets worse as they get older. It doesn't matter how often you change the bedding b/c it's not primarily from the bedding, it's from the birds.
I had chicks ranging from 6 weeks old to day olds in my basement for a couple of months this winter. NEVER AGAIN. It was gross. My best clean-up advice is to dust surfaces and then vacuum what you can.

 

[Tikka]

I know it's from the chickens, but if you empty out the bedding, there isn't as much accumulated dander for them to kick up on a day to day basis, was my thought. Though we never changed it more than twice a week. We had 8 girls and they were in our dining room after the first week because our furnace cuts out sometimes and we didn't want them to freeze in the basement.

 

[MissJenny]

Is this a nice finished basement or your standard cement floor and concrete block basement? If it's finished your need to vacuum the carpets and upholstered pieces, Swiffer the hardwoods and use furniture polish on the hard furniture like tables and shelves.

My 6 chicks have been five weeks in my kitchen which is no more dusty now than usual -- I'm kind of stumped how you have noticeable debris in less than two weeks.

Jenny

 

[hipeatall]

I think it has a whole lot to do with the size (large fowl vs. bantam) and quantities (6 vs. 12 vs. 26eek!) of the chicks... and also the ventilation in the room. By the time my 26 large fowl chickies were 5 weeks old I could easily see a thin layer of dust on the floors and furniture just hours after vacuuming and mopping... it was kind of freaky and my allergies were driving me crazy. But right now I have 7 wee little 10 day old bantams chicks in the brooder out in the same studio and there is no dust to speak of.

 

[got2bskilled]

I know whatcha mean! I had to keep the feed in a air tight plastic container.... and the dust went from INSANE to OK~ TIP: Clean it all up frequently if you can and change the filter for AC/Heater -OR- HELLO ELECTRIC BILL! It will clog your filter bad!

 

[goldnchocolate]

I've had chicks in my kitchen for around a month now (varying ages because I'm addicted to my new incubator

). I love having them in here but the dust was out of this world--I could feel the dust in my eyeballs

--it was awful. Yesterday I finally finished the "nursery coop" and moved the bigger chicks out there. I still have around 10 or so left in the kitchen brooder that just hatched this week. They aren't really kicking up the dust (yet) the way the other older chicks were doing it.