HELP!!! Filthy Coop

[FlyingNunFarm]

I've recently been introduced to some pigeons. Not mine but I'm helping with care. Or trying to.... They're filthy. What type of protection should I wear to clean them? Is there a way to keep them safe from what I know I'll stir up? Once I shovel the mountain of poo what I can I do to clean it even more? Or put down to help it stay cleaner?

I'm new to chickens and use sand and sweet pdz in the coop. It was clean and empty before I started.

I was unsure what my options for pigeons are.... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[GitaBooks]

Gloves, goggles and a mask and a shower right afterwards. If you can, move the pigeons to a holding area and shovel out the droppings (make sure they go somewhere they can't spread any disease or problems) and then hose out the inside. Let it dry, and then put down something like sand, easy to clean rubber matting, or wood shavings.
I've seen that pigeons are pretty messy animals, and need regular cleaning in order to look, smell, and feel good. Health problems can crop up for owners and pets if the coop is allowed to stay too dirty.

I've never kept pigeons, but I hope this helps.

Best of luck!

 

[jak2002003]

Yuck.. I don't envy you your job.

When its all clean I recommend using a deep layer of sand for the coop floor.

So long as the coop is weather proof the sand will stay dry.. poops will dry out quickly on it and get mixed into it when the birds walk about.. it will not smell and only needs to be raked over lightly once a week to remove any feathers and keep it looking good.

Perches should be designed so that no poop falls on lower roosting birds. I use short flat perches fixed to the wall... not the inverted V shape. The V perches are good to stop poop falling on lower birds.. but they have to be cleaned as droppings collect of the sides.. Its easier if they just fall onto the sand floor.

I like to use nest boxes that are wood. poop will dry out and can be scraped out once a week... or when needed.

My pigeon loft stays really clean with little effort. My old loft needed cleaning every day when I had bare concrete floor and nest boxes lined with newspaper.. and the V perches.

The big thing to remember is to keep everything dry. If damp gets in, or the sand gets wet.. then it will smell. Kept dry there is no smell.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Thanks!

 

[Hokum Coco]

Once I shovel the mountain of poo what I can I do to clean it even more? Or put down to help it stay cleaner?

I use this in my pigeon nest boxes as well as my chicken nest boxes.

Nest boxes
In my nest boxes I fold a feed bag to fit (nest boxes are 1 ft³). When a bag gets soiled; fold a new one; pop out the soiled; pop in the new. Feed bags are a nylon mesh bag.
Frozen poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off in summer when left out in the sun to bake and dry.

I have 65 trips around the sun it is the best method I have stumbled upon.

Make sure the twine is removed from the open end of the bag it can get tangled around your birds.



I employ two tarps over my pigeon loft floor (shovel out the heavy stuff0 and dump the tarp in the compost bin for complete cleaning replace it with the clean tarp immediately upon removal. Check out the link in my signature to view my set up.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

So I got the coop cleaned! But lost several birds before I got to it. All were younger but on their own. I'd say between 2 and 3 months old. They got thin and died in a matter of days. What is this? I tried looking up pigeon wasting diseases but only found info for chickens. What I did find didn't seem to fit what I was seeing.

The birds hatched and were fat and healthy till they got a little older. They looked fine until a day or two before they died. I would know something was wrong only at that point. They slowed down and that's when I could pick them up and feel that there was just nothing left.

I will add they the pigeons are not actually mine. Their owner is older and I'm doing my best to help. I don't want more birds to get sick and I'm worried about my chickens that live close by. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[GitaBooks]

So I got the coop cleaned! But lost several birds before I got to it. All were younger but on their own. I'd say between 2 and 3 months old. They got thin and died in a matter of days. What is this? I tried looking up pigeon wasting diseases but only found info for chickens. What I did find didn't seem to fit what I was seeing.

The birds hatched and were fat and healthy till they got a little older. They looked fine until a day or two before they died. I would know something was wrong only at that point. They slowed down and that's when I could pick them up and feel that there was just nothing left.

I will add they the pigeons are not actually mine. Their owner is older and I'm doing my best to help. I don't want more birds to get sick and I'm worried about my chickens that live close by. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm sorry I can't help, I don't keep pigeons. I hope this helps: http://www.melbournebirdvet.com/common-pigeon-disease-amp-treatments.aspx