How to clean wooden bator?????????

[ginbart]

I have a large cabinet bator made of wood. The trays are wood sides and the bottom of the trays are metal. How do I clean it to make sure it’ sanitized. I don’t want to loose any more eggs. I’m not sure I should put this here but it is an Emergency because I’m getting eggs on Friday and want to make sure it’s clean. Thanks for the help.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Boy, that's a tough one.

The best thing I could think to do is to spray it down with a fine mist of Oxine. Don't soak it, just a good mist. Other than that, I wouldn't know of anything else to do.

 

[purpletree23]

What company made the bator? Can you call them or look on line for cleaning instructions?

 

[ginbart]

The bator is so old and I don't know who made it. All I know is it holds over 600 eggs. I'd try the Oxine. But what is it?

 

[purpletree23]

I think that would leave a harmful residue and go right through the eggs to the developing chickens and harm them. Let me see what I can google.

 

[threehorses]

I used tektrol on my cabinet (wooden) incubators. Are they painted wood? A weird off light brown color? Maybe look up "sportsman" incubators. http://www.meyerhatchery.com/get_item_1502_gqf-sportsman-incubator.htm

Oxine is also good but likely you can't get any locally - you have to order it.

Since it's a solid surface, clean everything very well with soap and hot water. Get all the dirt out. Then for surfaces without dirt, you can try bleach.

Virkon is another to consider. It's safe to use and very effective.

No matter what you use, air out the incubator after using. let it run a day or two ahead of time (which you want to do anyway to make sure it's running right, especially with the big cabinet incubators like the Sportmans.
MSUCares is king of this type of thing. Here's some articles I know you'll find handy:

Disinfecting incubators: http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/poultry_sanitation.html

The nature of disinfectants (what the terms mean so you'll know EXACTLY what each thing does): http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/sanitation.html

And specific disinfection types around poultry:
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disinfectants.html

The latter will help you tell if the disinfectant will be disabled by what you're trying to clean (for example, bleach can't be used where there is dirt - it won't work).

Ohhh new eggs, huh? What kind?

 

[ginbart]

threehorses, thank you for all that informatin. I just went to the PO at 6:30 today and picked up my 7 silkies I got from AHappyChick. Now I will work on the bator. Thanks again.

 

[Pathfinders]

Tektrol is my disinfectant of choice when it comes to incubators. You can even spray it on eggs before hatching, so you know it's safe.

Most poultry supply places carry it, my personal favorite is http://www.poultrymansupply.com/2007Meds.htm

 

[dlhunicorn]

Quote:
Be sure to ventilate the brooder thoroughly if you use for disinfection of your brooder (tektrol is not effective on spores by the way) I have seen this product positively reviewed for hatching egg sanitization however> I certainly would not use it around my live birds much less mist them with it >Tektrol is a phenol which can be toxic to birds see here:
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/Consult.asp?Fun=Cause_3885&spc=All&dxkw=toxic&sxkw=&signs=

http://www.michvma.org/documents/MVC Proceedings/Labonde8.pdf
Principles of Avian Toxicology
"....Disinfectants (phenolic compounds): These products are rapidly absorbed through ingestion, inhalation or dermal contact. Corrosive burns can occur on the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract.
GI burns of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus may occur. Clinical signs include open mouth panting, vomiting, ataxia, shock, coma, and death. Treatment is similar to cationic soaps with
special attention to acid base status and renal and hepatic function..."

Be sure to rinse off the detergent used for cleaning and allow to dry before applying the disinfectant.

ETA: Virkon is not the same as Virkon-S >get the virkon-S

 

[ginbart]

This is some very good information I'm getting. I hope a lot of people are reading it. Thank you all.