Retiring current flock and starting fresh

[hollyoakhens]

My 3+ year old hens are headed for "retirement" (freecycled) and I want to start a new flock because my city only allows 6 hens (and no roosters) at a time. How do I clean out my coop/run before the next batch comes in? Is there a length of time the coop should be empty between flocks?

I had a flock of 6 hens, but two died this April and May due to similar illnesses (not sure what, but combs turned purple-blue and feathers puffed out... seems like circulation trouble). Now we're at 4 hens and all seem healthy.

 

[donrae]

I know you'll get a lot of "scrub the whole thing down with bleach and let it set a month before you put another bird in there" , but I don't clean my coop. I mean, I shovel out bedding once a year and dump in new shavings, but as far as disinfecting, etc, nope. I don't do an "all in, all out", either, I always have a rolling flock, adding new birds and getting rid of older birds. My new birds are day old chicks or homehatched. I believe if your birds are healthy exposing their immune systems to normal flora is a good thing, keeps them healthy. I've not had illness in my flock, so must be doing something right............so I say clean out the bedding, get it ready for new birds, tidy up as you wish, and buy some new birds!