Cleaning/disinfecting for new chicks

[horror_trashcan]

Chicks have been shipped out and I eagerly await their arrival however after sweeping out the brooder I wonder if I need to clean it more.
After looking it up a little I saw some were using bleach and some vinegar with the bleach users stating vinegar doesn't disinfect whist the vinegar users are saying the bleach is bad for your chickens. I will most likely not use bleach on the brooder however I believe something has been living in the empty coop and I would like to disinfect that as much as possible.
Does vinegar do enough?
If I were to use bleach how long should it air out for? I assume it needs to be diluted as well.

How often do you disinfect your coop? I tend see people talking about it when their flock gets ill or has a parasite, would disinfecting prevent it or is it just better to disinfect when things start getting weird?

I wanted to try the deep litter method but the chicks would scratch every bit of bedding away from where they slept- hence the poop pile and clean bedding. I was hoping they would use the bedding for extra insulation at night but they just didn't seem to like it. I could put more bedding in to where they can't shuffle it around so much or try something else.
Should I keep going for deep litter or should I try a poop board or something?

Sorry if these are silly questions but I would hate for the chicks to get ill due to the last ones.

 

[igorsMistress]

These are all excellent questions!

If the brooder just held babies that were never sick then a good scrubbing with plain soap and hot water may be enough.

I sanitize the coop once a year when I do a deep clean, but also if I buy chicks rather than let them hatch here. Bleach has a strong smell and can irritate chickens lungs. Vinegar isn’t going to kill all the germs you need to kill. Virkon S or Oxine with citric acid to activate it both work very well and I suggest you try one of these for best results in the coop.

Once your babies are old enough for treats you can try tossing them into the coop to encourage them to scratch around and stir up the litter for you. You can turn it over yourself as well. It needs to be turned and mixed up to compost.

I dislike poop boards. Scooping with a kitty litter scoop works pretty good but the PDZ just make more dust and is more work than the deep litter: YMMV.

 

[BDutch]

Why disinfect? Sounds very unnecessary to me. Just a normal cleaning with a eco friendly cleaner or dishwasher soap is probably best.

I only cleaned the entire coop when I had red mites in it. Normally I don’t use water with detergent or soap. Just take out the old cardboard and bedding from the nest boxes and poop trays. Only use a broom and dustpan to clean the surface. And build up new layers with sand/DE , cardboard and bedding after. Getting the cardboard out every 2 weeks in summer. I basically scoop the poop in winter and add new sand/shavings/hay or straw. I get everything out less than once a month bc there is no risk of a red mites infestation.

The chicks slept/rested in a nestbox with their mama’s. After a few day when the chicks come out the nest they had access to a small area where the food and water is, and they could walk around (sand layer with a towel/paper towels on top. After a week they go downstairs to the dirt(y) world where the mothers dig for tiny insects and give these as a treat to the chicks.

 

[horror_trashcan]

These are all excellent questions!

If the brooder just held babies that were never sick then a good scrubbing with plain soap and hot water may be enough.

I sanitize the coop once a year when I do a deep clean, but also if I buy chicks rather than let them hatch here. Bleach has a strong smell and can irritate chickens lungs. Vinegar isn’t going to kill all the germs you need to kill. Virkon S or Oxine with citric acid to activate it both work very well and I suggest you try one of these for best results in the coop.

Once your babies are old enough for treats you can try tossing them into the coop to encourage them to scratch around and stir up the litter for you. You can turn it over yourself as well. It needs to be turned and mixed up to compost.

I dislike poop boards. Scooping with a kitty litter scoop works pretty good but the PDZ just make more dust and is more work than the deep litter: YMMV.

Unfortunately the brooder is plywood and tin so I do not think I can use soap and water, I also do not think it would dry out properly before the chicks get here as its rather humid. I could say more but there are a myriad of reasons I don't think I can do this at the moment.

I used a layer of cardboard before adding the bedding which protected the wood although obviously I can't prevent every little bit from touching. There's no large bits or gross spots, maybe a little dusty.
The chicks were healthy, I had thought they had coccidiosis but they stayed the same throughout the weeks so I guess not. I only think cocci because their droppings seemed quite dark and some rather wet but none of them seemed sick or unhappy.

They shuffled around the pine bedding a ton, they just never pooped in it excessively. I believe there was a bit of a gnat problem and they would scratch the chips to get the bugs.

My brain is going off of 'if a hen hatched chicks they would be around some mess, this can't be that different right?' Plenty reasons why that could be wrong so I'm asking.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would hate for the chicks to get ill due to the last ones.

So there were chicks in it previously - what were they ill with that you're concerned about? If it's coccidiosis I don't consider that an issue. I brood outdoors on the run floor to deliberately expose my chicks to whatever strain of coccidiosis is in my flock - they cannot build up immunity if they aren't exposed to it. But from your description they did not have it, so was there another illness that was present that hasn't been mentioned?

 

[horror_trashcan]

So there were chicks in it previously - what were they ill with that you're concerned about? If it's coccidiosis I don't consider that an issue. I brood outdoors on the run floor to deliberately expose my chicks to whatever strain of coccidiosis is in my flock - they cannot build up immunity if they aren't exposed to it. But from your description they did not have it, so was there another illness that was present that hasn't been mentioned?

No. I am worried about bacteria building up after the last ones had been in there, less about a confirmed sickness. I can't see all these microparticles nor do I know what they are so I tend to be extra clean about it; I thought people here might have insight as to how worried I should be about cleaning it. The chicks got here today so there was nothing extra done beside a fresh layer of cardboard.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I thought people here might have insight as to how worried I should be about cleaning it. The chicks got here today so there was nothing extra done beside a fresh layer of cardboard.

Honestly I think that's fine, I wouldn't worry about it. I haven't cleaned my brooder (which was a prefab coop) in the 8 years I've had it.

 

[igorsMistress]

Unfortunately the brooder is plywood and tin so I do not think I can use soap and water, I also do not think it would dry out properly before the chicks get here as its rather humid. I could say more but there are a myriad of reasons I don't think I can do this at the moment.

I used a layer of cardboard before adding the bedding which protected the wood although obviously I can't prevent every little bit from touching. There's no large bits or gross spots, maybe a little dusty.
The chicks were healthy, I had thought they had coccidiosis but they stayed the same throughout the weeks so I guess not. I only think cocci because their droppings seemed quite dark and some rather wet but none of them seemed sick or unhappy.

They shuffled around the pine bedding a ton, they just never pooped in it excessively. I believe there was a bit of a gnat problem and they would scratch the chips to get the bugs.

My brain is going off of 'if a hen hatched chicks they would be around some mess, this can't be that different right?' Plenty reasons why that could be wrong so I'm asking.

You can soap and water but it needs time to dry out and so will the coop.

I agree if a hen hatched them then they would be in it. That doesn’t mean the chicks would live.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No. I am worried about bacteria building up after the last ones had been in there, less about a confirmed sickness. I can't see all these microparticles nor do I know what they are so I tend to be extra clean about it; I thought people here might have insight as to how worried I should be about cleaning it. The chicks got here today so there was nothing extra done beside a fresh layer of cardboard.

If you had purchased the place and had an old used brooder or coop I'd suggest cleaning the old loose stuff out and spraying it with a disinfecting solution. I use a weak bleach solution for that kind of stuff but there are other disinfectants. I don't measure the bleach but it's around a one part bleach to 10 parts water solution. That's probably a lot stronger than it has to be. Vinegar could do you some good but I don't know what strength vinegar you would need. In any case, air it out for a few days before you put chickens in.

This is before you get your first chickens out of an abundance of caution. The reason I'd do this is that you don't know what might have been in there. Since I have not had any diseases in the brooder I clean the loose stuff out and make sure it stays dry before each new batch. No disinfecting. I don't see a reason too.

Where you are now in the process and not knowing of anything specific to be concerned about I'd not worry about it. Keep the brooder or coop dry and you are highly unlikely to have problems.

I agree if a hen hatched them then they would be in it. That doesn’t mean the chicks would live.

I'm not sure where you are coming from with this? Hens have been hatching and raising chicks in "it" (whatever "it" is) since before they were domesticated and they did not go extinct. I let my hens hatch and raise chicks in the flock (probably in "it") and those chicks are as strong and healthy as my brooder-raised chicks.

One reason my brooder-raised chicks are as healthy is that I put some dirt from the run in the brooder for them to eat. That gets the chicks any probiotics the adults have to share, gets grit in their system, and gets them started on any flock immunities they may need. Chicks raised by a broody automatically share these things because they are exposed to "it" from her if not the rest of the flock.
Maybe I'm totally misunderstanding what you mean by this?

 

[igorsMistress]

If you had purchased the place and had an old used brooder or coop I'd suggest cleaning the old loose stuff out and spraying it with a disinfecting solution. I use a weak bleach solution for that kind of stuff but there are other disinfectants. I don't measure the bleach but it's around a one part bleach to 10 parts water solution. That's probably a lot stronger than it has to be. Vinegar could do you some good but I don't know what strength vinegar you would need. In any case, air it out for a few days before you put chickens in.

This is before you get your first chickens out of an abundance of caution. The reason I'd do this is that you don't know what might have been in there. Since I have not had any diseases in the brooder I clean the loose stuff out and make sure it stays dry before each new batch. No disinfecting. I don't see a reason too.

Where you are now in the process and not knowing of anything specific to be concerned about I'd not worry about it. Keep the brooder or coop dry and you are highly unlikely to have problems.


I'm not sure where you are coming from with this? Hens have been hatching and raising chicks in "it" (whatever "it" is) since before they were domesticated and they did not go extinct. I let my hens hatch and raise chicks in the flock (probably in "it") and those chicks are as strong and healthy as my brooder-raised chicks.

One reason my brooder-raised chicks are as healthy is that I put some dirt from the run in the brooder for them to eat. That gets the chicks any probiotics the adults have to share, gets grit in their system, and gets them started on any flock immunities they may need. Chicks raised by a broody automatically share these things because they are exposed to "it" from her if not the rest of the flock.
Maybe I'm totally misunderstanding what you mean by this?

Yes I understand. It’s still a good idea to clean the coop before adding chicks. They are more susceptible to disease than an older flock and are the weakest link. If they get sick it can impact the rest of your flock. You’re not going to sanitize the dirt, but you should at least clean it and add fresh litter. I think it’s a good idea to sanitize the coop itself annually regardless. Wild birds and furry animals, rodents and wind can all spread diseases. Cleaning and sanitizing can help keep your flock healthy.