need serious coop help!!

[~*B*~]

i got to see the coops at the house we are moving into today.
2 seperate nice big coops and one area of the barn that has been used for a coop.
heres my problem. the people who lived there left them NASTY.

i mean GROSS. one has a dead chicken in it and they never cleaned them out at all ever
while they had chickens. poor chickens lived in complete and total filth.
So what would be the best way to clean it out? I planned on taking my powerwasher
and spayer each one down top to bottom to clean them up. will that be sufficent?
should i use bleach, vinegar, or what? i know it is gonna get poopy again and
but i am worried about germs and anything my chickens could get from the nasty
living conditions the poor previous chickens had to live in.
thank you in advance for the help!!

 

[sheps4her]

Thats a shame they left it like that for you to deal with...

powerwashing is a good idea to clean it as much as possible, but don't waste your time trying to disenfect it with bleach. Bleach will not work on porous surfaces like wood. It will also not work on any organic material like dirt, grass etc. There isn't anything I know of that would TRULY disenfect wood.

 

[Omran]

I think I will presser wash it too and might use some deck cleaner with the presser washer too, it might helps.
It is really bad when people want animals but don't care about taking care of them.

Good luck.

Omran

 

[lichick28]

How about after you power wash, let it dry out nice & give it a coat of paint inside

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Yikes! What a nasty job! Those poor chickens. Are there runs, too? Or just the coops?

I would disinfect it after it's cleaned out. 10% bleach works well. I think letting it dry out and giving it a coat of paint after it's clean, is a great idea.

I can not stress this enough! Get yourself protective eye wear and a decent mask or respirator. This is going to be a big job. You'll be dealing with either dust or splashing from the powerwasher and you really do need to protect yourself. You can be infected by what gets in your eyes, just as you can be infected by what you breathe.

I hope you and your chickens will be very happy there, after it's all done.

 

[patandchickens]

By all means wear a mask, preferably shelling out for a REAL mask not the little disposable 5-for-$5 dealies that don't fit your face very well. And wet things down well before trying to scrape or shovel anything.

I'd suggest getting things as clean as possible by 'conventional means' (i.e. hard work with scrub-brush and water), then let it dry for as much as a few weeks til it is really good 'n dry everywhere inside, then hit it with an agricultural disinfectant (see what your feedstore carries), then let it dry again real well. YOu may well find repairs you want to do in conjunction iwth this process, too.

Good luck, "have fun"

,

Pat

 

[txchickie]

Ew yuck. I am sorry. Gross!

Powerwashing (and I'd maybe add some dawn soap in with it) and if there's anyway to expose it to sunlight for as long as you can and get it totally dry.

That sounds like a chore! I hope everything goes well for you!!!

 

[jrleader99]

I agree with most of the other posts regarding cleaning really well and possibly even doing the double clean method - clean it once for the stuff you can see, let it dry real well, and then cleaning it again with the power washer and some sort of disinfectant (preferable organic or agricultural). Before you put your chickens in there I would make sure that you let it dry out real well too.

Also by all means protect yourself during the entire process. You may want to get yourself some of those Tyvek suits (not sure where to get them), also wear real protective eyewear and respirators. You need to make sure that you don't get yourself sick in trying to protect your birds.

Good luck and post some pics when you get a chance.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

That is so sad! I'm glad the next chickens that will be living in it will have you guys to take care of them

What did they use as bedding? Hopefully it's not to hard to clean up. I can't believe they left a dead chicken in there! UGH! What is wrong with people?

 

[flopshot]

wearing a mask, remove built up dry debris with rake and shovel. apply a 50% bleach and water mix with a tank sprayer or just toss it on with a pail to saturate everything. an actual respirator is best for this. not an air supplied unit but one with filters for painting or chemical application. blast off the surface before it dries with your washer. if your machine has a chemical injector re-apply the bleach straight from the container and wash everything again. the injector will mix at apx 10:1. then swith over to full pressure and blast again. re-apply the bleach with the machine and leave it to dry.