OLD COOP DISEASES?

[CKNNWBEE]

Please help. We have 9 day old pullets. We also have pieces from an old coop. Are they diseases that can be passed on from what killed the chickens in the old coop?

 

[Wisher1000]

Sorry, but we need more info......

What killed the chickens in the old coop?
How long has it been since there were birds in that coop?
What is the coop made of (floor, walls, windows, roosts, roof?)
Have you taken any measures to clean and/or disinfect the coop?
How long till they have to be put there (assuming they are in a brooder now and will move to the coop when your temps are high enough?)

 

[Eggcessive]

Most people recommend cleaning coops between flocks. What you use to clean with (10 % bleach, oxine, or some other)is kind of up to you and what the coop is made of. Newborn chicks need to be on clean pine shavings in some sort of brooder with a heat lamp. There are many respiratory diseases, coccidia, lice, and mites that can inhabit an old coop. I would spray it out as best as I could and get old droppings out before using it.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Sure, wood can harbor parasites, even microscopic ones. Pressure wash the old wood and let it dry thoroughly in the sun. Ultraviolet light kills most things. The you can seal it.

 

[CKNNWBEE]

Thank you so much! We are new to this and overcautious. No one told us to have a hen help, so we are using a brooder right now. They are in all new materials now and their permanent home will be in about 4 weeks, it is new too.


When I say old, I mean 50 years old

I am not sure of the disease that killed them. It is wire and wood edges. We won't use it for their new coop, just for their play pen outside. I used TSP this morning and then drying in the sun all day.

 

[Wisher1000]

They should be fine!

 

[CKNNWBEE]

Thank you! We have been non-stop checking BYC. So helpful!

They were happy to have me hold them Sunday, but then yesterday they were squirmy and tried flying away. Can they sense that I'm nervous?

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Yes they can. They also have their own agenda and may not have felt like being still. But with handing they tame down usually.

 

[zooweemama]

Yes and the answer varies by how long it's been vacant, the condition of the coop etc

. We just ran into this personally. We gutted our coop out and cleaned it out. laid down to new soil. *sigh* We struggled with leg mites and my flock was struck with aspergillus (mold) from the old wood getting damp from the chicken fountain. I honestly don't think it would have been quite this bad (we have lost 3 chickens and counting) if we had used new lumber (or better lumber) and had designed the coop ourselves. Our experience is NOT typical however- and I do wish we had just started fresh now.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Well, that's kind of why I recommend pressure washing as well as thorough exposure to ultraviolet light. People are reusing all sorts of century old wood these days, I have reused wood that's laid outside in the weather as well. See the coop thread on ventilation too....hopefully these posts will help another avoid such a difficult problem.