Need help deciding what to do with this coop

[Bine]

See it like that: The floor and the walls are tiled? That is great b/c with a high-pressure cleaner you can get rid of the smelly dirt and desinfect the coop. And maybe the last owner only removed the roost and stuff and his/her chickens were happy and healthy.... when a shed is empty often some unwanted lodgers move in and leave odour signatures everywhere. I once found a business of ferrets in an old garage... it was a breath taking experience. .

 

[zonamiss]

What's the best solution to clean it with? Would you rip up the tiled floor and wall? There are windows that are opened with chicken wire over them. I think the smell is very old poop and never being cleaned. I'm scared on power washing the coop room as there are outlets with power to them still.

 

[gjensen]

What's the best solution to clean it with? Would you rip up the tiled floor and wall? There are windows that are opened with chicken wire over them. I think the smell is very old poop and never being cleaned. I'm scared on power washing the coop room as there are outlets with power to them still.

Cut the power off.

 

[Bine]

Bevor you power wash the walls, cut the power off. Sometimes rats make nests in walls and chew on the cables. If you not sure about the cables, call a electrican to take a look at the installation. Check for signs of rats or mices in and around the shed and set up some poison traps. As long as you don't have livestock on the property, you can work with poison. Once the chicken are in the shed, poison is off limits, b/c of the risk that your chicken eat a poisoned mouse and die.
Control the traps every day. If the rat don't "like" the poisen pads, use some peanut butter... normally they can't resist the smell. After two weeks all rats and mice should be gone.
Open windows wouldn't work were I live and maybe you can finde some second hand windows. The wire over the windows is a good idea, it helps to keep flyes out. I wouldn't remove the tiled floor. It is so much easier to clean.
Do the cleaning in steps: Dry clean: Sweep or blow dust the room. Scrape manure and accumulated dust and dirt from the wall/floor.. Remove all litter from the floor. Use gloves and a mask. Litter can be added to a compost pile. Sweep the floor to remove as much dry material as possible. Turn the power off to the building prior to using any water for cleaning.
Wet cleaning is done in three steps: soaking, washing and rinsing. Warm or hot water will do a better job getting through organic matter than cold water. You can use a cheap neutral detergent, like dish soap.Soak the heavily soiled areas thoroughly. Use a low pressure sprayer to totally soak all surfaces. Soak until the accumulated dirt and manure has softened to the point it is easily removed withe higher pressure. Wash every surface in the building, ceiling trusses, wall sills and any surface where dirt and dust may accumulate. The washing solution can be either a neutral detergent or an alkaline detergent like baking or washing soda. The hotter the water and better it works.
On the pics the shed seems to be out of metal on the outside. If you have metal surfaces with hard water scale, then you will need to use an acid detergent on those surfaces to remove the scale. Vinegar or Citric Acid mix into the water works fine.
A final rinse immediately after washing is recommended to remove any harmful residues. Mop up puddles as they can rapidly become breeding grounds for germs. Thoroughly air-dry the building. A sunny day helps here.
If everything is dry, you can do the repairs. Spray foam insulation and fine steel wool work good esp. with rate holes.
When that is done, you can desinfect the shed with some lower pressure. You will find disinfectants in your farm supply store (i.e. Sorgene), they are not cheep but kills all kind of germs.
Much work... maybe you can make some "after-pics". ;-)

 

[ChickenChump]

[/IMG]
Its not all bad....

The dirt floor of this coop is probably unfixable but I was hoping for some help on how I can make this work and have healthy chickens?? I have good ventilation around the top but the main problem I can see is the will plate is just a 2×4 on edge, therefore buried. Water wicks up the walls about 12-18" and....its just nasty

 

[gjensen]

[/URL]
Its not all bad....


The dirt floor of this coop is probably unfixable but I was hoping for some help on how I can make this work and have healthy chickens?? I have good ventilation around the top but the main problem I can see is the will plate is just a 2×4 on edge, therefore buried. Water wicks up the walls about 12-18" and....its just nasty

Can you remove the top few inches inside, and replace with sand? Making the grade a little higher than the outside grade?

Can you dig a trench around the highest three exterior sides, draining the water away past the fourth and lowest side? Replacing the 2" x 4" while you are at it, and replacing it with a larger pt 2"x then it has roofing tar brushed on all 6 sides? Then it will not absorb moisture, and the idea behind the trenches is to give a place for the water to go, and send it away faster.

I do not know what the exterior grade is like.

I would want more ventilation.

 

[PapaChaz]

I wouldn't rip out the tile at all, talk about easy to clean!

as already mentioned, turn the power off and pressure wash it clean. DEFINITELY add ventilation, and plenty of it! that's most likely why it smells so bad. The ammonia has to have a place to go, up and out is preferable. I would buy a through the roof chimney kit and go through the ceiling and roof. Cut holes in the tops of the walls inside and out, and cover them outside with vent plates for eaves, you can find them at your building supply store, and inside with hardware cloth.

I promise you ventilation will take care of a lot of the smell.

Also, once you start using it, keep a bag of sweet PDZ on hand and use it liberally mixed with your bedding. A poop board/tray under the roosts with a sand/pdz mix also keeps the smell down, as it dries the poo pretty quickly. Dry poo doesn't put off the odor moist poo does, so getting it dry quickly helps. I go out every 2 to 3 days with a kitty litter scoop and a small bucket and scoop it clean, no smell or flies at all

 

[ChickenChump]

Can you remove the top few inches inside, and replace with sand? Making the grade a little higher than the outside grade?

Can you dig a trench around the highest three exterior sides, draining the water away past the fourth and lowest side? Replacing the 2" x 4" while you are at it, and replacing it with a larger pt 2"x then it has roofing tar brushed on all 6 sides? Then it will not absorb moisture, and the idea behind the trenches is to give a place for the water to go, and send it away faster.

I do not know what the exterior grade is like.

I would want more ventilation.

Im tempted to go ahead and put a floor in it. I was thinking of doing sand with DEZ mixed in no matter the coop cause of simplicity and hygenics. Seems like that would be just as much work as digging the top layer of dirt off(what I'm thinking anyhow, 4-5" deep). My issue is time and to an extent money. On ventilation, the 2 long walls(E&W walls) have vents that are about 2' tall and run the full length of the walls. Still not enough? I know the wet dirt inside, but I don't think its from the roof leaking.

 

[PapaChaz]

Im tempted to go ahead and put a floor in it. I was thinking of doing sand with DEZ mixed in no matter the coop cause of simplicity and hygenics. Seems like that would be just as much work as digging the top layer of dirt off(what I'm thinking anyhow, 4-5" deep). My issue is time and to an extent money. On ventilation, the 2 long walls(E&W walls) have vents that are about 2' tall and run the full length of the walls. Still not enough? I know the wet dirt inside, but I don't think its from the roof leaking.

you'd most likely get a lot more help if you started your own thread instead of hijacking this one

 

[ChickenChump]

Oh sorry I thought the title "Need help deciding what to do with this coop" was a good thread to get advice/ swap ideas on what to do with my coop.