Neighbor donated small coop

[Farmgirl805]

My neighbor gave us a small coop knowing we were adding another set of chicks. It’s small enough to go inside our larger coop and act as a sort of nursery/ home base until the chicks are fully integrated with my older gals. My question is- knowing that it’s a used coop, how should I properly clean it before bringing into my existing coop? Is there a specific cleaning solution I can safely use to make it usable for my girls?

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

How long has it been since he used it? Was there anything being stored in it. If it is clean and has the doors been shut, I say give it a good spray down with an animal safe soap.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Also, having it inside a larger structure is brilliant.

 

[Farmgirl805]

How long has it been since he used it? Was there anything being stored in it. If it is clean and has the doors been shut, I say give it a good spray down with an animal safe soap.

It’s been about a year since it had his 3 chickens in it. He just kept it in his back yard after he no longer had his lady friends. Nothing was stored in it, it’s just a bit dusty from the farm equipment that runs behind our houses. It’s in great shape, especially for something I won’t be relying on as my only coop. I have 7 new chicks that are about ready to move on outta my den, and I think this will be great as a nursery, although I know it’s not big enough for all of them once they get a bit bigger. I’m hoping that they’ll use this in the bigger coop to be trained to the coop, and as they get bigger, they’ll learn to roost outside it, and become more acclimated to the larger structure.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If his chickens had a disease that would be good to know. Without specific knowledge after a year I'd sweep it out and remove any cobwebs, then spray it with a weak bleach in water solution inside and out. Then air it out really well before the chicks go in it. I don't think you really need to spray it with the bleach but it seems like the right thing to do.

 

[Farmgirl805]

If his chickens had a disease that would be good to know. Without specific knowledge after a year I'd sweep it out and remove any cobwebs, then spray it with a weak bleach in water solution inside and out. Then air it out really well before the chicks go in it. I don't think you really need to spray it with the bleach but it seems like the right thing to do.

A 10 to 1 - water to bleach solution spray was my plan. I wasn’t sure if there was any other product on the market that would do the same, but better suited for chickens. Thanks for your help. I feel better now that I’ve got a solid plan.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Congratulations in getting that small coop. That is tremendous. And I consider it a very good thing your coop is big enough that it will fit inside. Another time that having extra room makes life so much better.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

How cute is this?!? It will be a great extra coop. I have a small prefab I bought before getting the big coop. The little one sits inside a covered dog run. I have used it so much this spring for integration of younger chooks. I use it for the chicks to be "outside" yet not running all over yet. I have some four-week-old chicks going into it this weekend. Mine need out of the house too. YOU did good.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Personally wouldn't bother with the bleach but I'd chat with the neighbor and see if he had any health issues arise while he had his birds. Assuming no, I'd just sweep/scrape it out. It's fairly unlikely anything survived in there after a year unoccupied.

 

[Farmgirl805]

Personally wouldn't bother with the bleach but I'd chat with the neighbor and see if he had any health issues arise while he had his birds. Assuming no, I'd just sweep/scrape it out. It's fairly unlikely anything survived in there after a year unoccupied.

I did some hosing down and scraping of old egg yolk and poop, and what I did find were BBIIIIIIGGGGG spiders and their nests full of eggs. Glad that was taken care of before we carried it into the other coop