Cleaning the Coop without using proprietary chemicals or cleaners

[Florridora]

With winter approaching we think it's time to give our chicky house a good clean before the snow comes. We need to give the perch and ladder a thorough clean and disinfect to get rid of any bacteria, bugs, mites and dried poo that has built up over the last 6 months.

The problem is that we live in a small rural village in Hungary and do not have access to any fancy cleaning materials that we might be able to get anywhere else.

The question is can anyone recommend what we can use to make a deep clean but only using common household materials. We have thought about diluted vinegar, baby cleaning solution or maybe diluted oxy-bleach. The reality is we don't know what to use as we are new to this, having our first 4 chickens this year. they all lay us delicious eggs and we don't want to upset them!

Any ideas greatly received!

 

[pawsplus]

Surely you can get bleach, right? Mix bleach and water in a 30%/70% solution and use that. Kills anything! Rinse well and let dry b/f letting chickens have access.

 

[wyododge]

We don't ever clean with anything other than a broom and a putty knife. Personally we don't get to upset about bacteria, we feel the chickens will develop a much stronger immune system if they are not in a sterilized environment.

Just our opinion though.

But if you are going to clean, and want sterilization, nothing works as well as bleach in my opinion. And it is pretty safe too.

 

[pawsplus]

Honestly, I've never bleached my coop either and can't see myself doing so. I only have 4. I chip off the stuck-on poop a few times a year and I scoop poop out of the bedding several times a week. That's about it.

 

[begbfg]

I don't use bleach, either. Instead I use a very dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide and water and scrub the roosts with it. Then I let them dry. The only other thing I use in the coop is food grade diatomaceous earth to dry up the poo for easy removal and to keep the bug population in control. Hope this helps!

 

[Florridora]

Thanks for the suggestions. We have been trying to get some diatomaceous earth for ages. I looked up the hungarian name (kovaföld) in my biggest dictionary and headed to the local food / farm supplier. When I asked for it I might as well have come from another planet - let alone another country

Still searching!

 

[quintinp]

White vinegar Disinfects. A couple gallons of white vinegar in a spray bottle would be good after you get the poop, and dirt out, then after about an hour, you can go ahead and wipe the stuff that is still wet away with a wet rag.

 

[redriver]

I've always liked to clean with baking soda, myself. Super cheap and readily available, too.

 

[TN_BIRD]

lots of the home remedy stuff works just fine

vinegar
bleach
baking soda
elbow grease

 

[SunnyAlberta]

I hope no one minds I am reviving an old thread. I'm looking for information on safe cleaners.

Quote:
Bleach is a good disinfectant that eventually breaks down into little more than water HOWEVER you cannot disinfect a surface unless it is cleaned first.We do need to use another product to actually remove soiling from surfaces, rinse like crazy and then use bleach to disinfect.

My experience with cleaning and disinfecting is from 12 years of breeding and showing pedigreed cats in a home environment. I do not know the safety of products for chickens and I do not know which bacteria or viruses we are dealing with in a coop and the dilution rate required to effectively kill these things.