How to clean a quarantine coop after illness?

littlehouse · Jul 27, 2011

Not sure if this should go here or in diseases, but given it's not an emergency, I went with here.

I need to clean an unidentified nasty out of the quarantine coop and the transport cage, and the more I read, the more confused I'm becoming! The cage is plastic, the coop is a combination of recycled metal, woood, wire, plastic etc. I had lined the coop with a double layer of cardboard, as the floor is mostly metal, is this likely to be enough to protect the floor or will it still need a good disinfecting? Also, what do I do with the infected material (cardboard, straw, newspaper etc)? Can I compost or bag and bin them, or do I have to burn it all? And the feeding/water dishes, can I wash them out in bleach? I don't have oxine as it's hard to get hold of in Australia, and I have a tiny flock of 3 now, but I'm considering it, but otherwise I think the strongest I have on hand is bleach, would that do?

Unfortunately I'm not sure what the illness was, it presented as respiratory but may have been coccidiosis as there was blood in the stools and the breeder (belatedly!) mentioned that some of her flock were sick.

Thanks in advance!

speckledhen · Jul 27, 2011

A good strong bleach solution will kill most everything except coccidiosis organisms. Household ammonia will kill those, but they are in the soil. In soil, that would take a strong liming with hydrated lime, then allowing it to be rained into the soil well before birds are on it.

I'd burn everything as far as bedding that was in there, personally, just to be safe. Then open up after bleaching for maximum air flow and sunshine for a month or more. Hope this helps.

nonsuch · Jul 27, 2011

Hi,

If you can't burn the disposable material, tie it tightly in a plastic bag and put in the trash. As long as it's going to the refuse site and not near Chickens that should be fine. I would dilute 1/4 cup household bleach with a gallon of water and wash/spray down everything. Allow to sit at least 20 minutes and rinse (if possible). If it's coccidia it will get into the soil, but your birds will also (and need to) develop an immunity to Coccidia, as they grow. There is an excellent article on line, written by Dr Dr Peter J Brown, First State Vet Supply. He also has recommendations for treatment and building resistance to the problem. Good luck "Down Under" I was in Australia and New Zealand in October 2010 - I love your Country!

littlehouse · Jul 28, 2011

Thanks for the replies, will give it all a good going over with bleach then, and sunshine too if I can get hold of any - that bit might have to wait a couple of months though as it's been raining cats and dogs all winter!

Quote:I'll look this up as I'd would like to read this. Since the two sick birds arrived, I've spent an hour or two a day googling chicken health issues, and would really like to read something positive about coccidiosis. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit.

speckledhen · Jul 28, 2011

Coccidiosis is very, very common and easy to treat if caught early. Many groups of chicks who are raised off the ground and then put on ground at 4-6 weeks get it within a week or two of being put outside because the oocycts in the soil overwhelm their systems. It's a protozoan, not a bacteria. They don't "catch" it from each other, but each of them poops out the oocysts they ingest and if the waterers are dirty and the bedding is filthy, the cycle is hard to break till they are older and develop immunity. Even if their coop is spotless, they can still get cocci, even on medicated feed. There are 9 types of cocci, some worse than others, and not every type is in every soil.

Log in / Register

Forums

How to clean a quarantine coop after illness?

littlehouse Out Of The Brooder

speckledhen Intentional Solitude Premium Member

nonsuch Chillin' With My Peeps

littlehouse Out Of The Brooder

speckledhen Intentional Solitude Premium Member

BackYard Chickens is proudly sponsored by