Official BYC Poll: Do You Wear a Mask or Respirator When Cleaning Your Coop?

[ChickenDad2000]

I have dropping boards that they poop about 90% of their waste on, so when it's time to clean the coop I just grab the board and dump the waste all in a pile outside. Once a year I'll pressure wash the inside, and then I might wear a mask.

 

[SVRapture40]

Nope - I don't wear a mask. We have a small coop so I don't actually go inside when I am cleaning it out. I stand outside and pull the bedding out through the hole from the removable wall.

 

[Michelob5]

View attachment 3746024

We all know how much dust those birds can create, so I'm just wondering who wears some kind of respiratory protection when they are in and around the coop - and when!

Have you had any issues from not wearing a mask?

Please vote and leave a comment below!

 

[BunnayCheeks]

I have bad asthma and allergies, but also am lazy lol. But during a deep clean I wear a respirator mask and goggles thanks to my husband, who was worried about my health

 

[barnmack2023]

View attachment 3746024

We all know how much dust those birds can create, so I'm just wondering who wears some kind of respiratory protection when they are in and around the coop - and when!

Have you had any issues from not wearing a mask?

Please vote and leave a comment below!

No i have never wore a mask, but then my pen is 12x12' it is 4x4 post and chicken wire on all sides, back has rain barrels and it has a metal roof, 4 nesting boxes and a roosting pole. it has no floor. i don't use any bedding, just lime occasionally for smell and diatomaceous earth, and ash occasionally. It gets raked out as needed, leaves and grass clippings are added from time to time they get scraps from garden and house, and free range a few afternoons a week.

 

[Elizabeth-in-Louisiana]

View attachment 3746024

We all know how much dust those birds can create, so I'm just wondering who wears some kind of respiratory protection when they are in and around the coop - and when!

Have you had any issues from not wearing a mask?

Please vote and leave a comment below!

Never have but I have an Eglu Cube and I try to clean it 1/week.

 

[DisChickens]

View attachment 3746024

We all know how much dust those birds can create, so I'm just wondering who wears some kind of respiratory protection when they are in and around the coop - and when!

Have you had any issues from not wearing a mask?

Please vote and leave a comment below!

I don't wear a mask, mainly because I didn't know you should and because I also just don't have a mask, but I do get kinda sick when I clean out my coop because of the dust, so maybe I will find some masks soon.

 

[Code1935]

I've never actually thought of wearing a mask and neither has my family. I live in florida and there's a lot of things that kill our chickens, The only time we wear masks inside our chicken coops is when need to dispose of a dead chicken, and sometimes dead oppussoms.

 

[PinkFrostina]

I don’t wear a mask when cleaning the coop. Never have. Never needed to. The masks are just a placebo anyways. They don’t really filter anything. They CAN filter dust particles, but let’s face it: masks are uncomfortable and breathing in the dust from the coop won’t kill you.

 

[Penny_01]

I don’t usually wear a mask unless something happened. For example, one day the heat lamp fell in the coop and almost caught fire, but thankfully all the chickens were outside away from harm. It left a gross black residue and bad smell so that was the only time I wore a mask. Other than that one time, I never wear a mask when cleaning.