Moving to a new house that has pre-existing chickens

[PolishHeaddress]

I will be moving to a new house in a few weeks that has an existing coop and run with 2 fully grown layer hens kept by the previous owner. She decided to give them to me but my concern is I have 16 chicks that I will be bringing with me. I've already made the decision to slaughter the 2 there so I can start fresh and not risk the chicks getting disease, stressed out, etc. My question is, is there any way I can "clean" the run or in any other way prepare it for the chicks arrival?

 

[Hayduke27]

I'd give it a going over with some DE, maybe give it a good raking if there is poo and debris that might be removed. I've read people talking about bleaching and whatnot, but I personally steer away from that. I think a good inspection of the two current hens to make sure they look healthy, then a powdering of DE, you'd be good to go.

 

[Hayduke27]

Just as an FYI if you didn't know, DE is Diatomaceous Earth, and can be bought at most feed stores as a stable dryer/deodorizer.

 

[donrae]

I also would go by how the current birds look. If they are healthy, there's no disease and no need to decontaminate. Personally, I think a good dose of healthy bacteria is good for young things, birds or humans.