sanitizng wooden brooder??

[cici_p]

Still getting ready for my chicks. . .
Just moved our wood box from the stove into our "chicken room" to use as a brooder. It is basically a large, wooden box. I am wondering, do I need to sanitize it with anything? I don't want to put anything on the wood that the wood would "soak up" and then be a poison (like bleach). Is it okay to just clean it out, or do I need something more to kill bacteria?
I hope this isn't a stupid question.
Thanks!

 

[purecountrychicken]

Depends on what was in it before. I have a wood brooder and clean it with dawn dish soap and hot water, the floor is covered with vinyl flooring to make cleaning easier.

 

[cici_p]

Oh, ivory soap. That is a good idea. It hasn't had any small animals in it before (that I know of, lol), but we did toss a lot of dog-pee covered newspapers in it this winter while potty training our puppy! So it is not necessarily germ-free.

 

[FrenchHen]

Wouldn't a steamer work? You know, as seen on TV.
It would only help if you have one already.

 

[NotTheMomma]

I'd sit it out in the sun for a few days.

 

[firedove]

There is a product called Vanodine that works great and better than bleach! It is iodine based so if you are allergic to iodine don't use it. It is completely safe for all animals and it comes in concentrated bottles. A small bottle makes many many gallons of disinfecting mix. You can even mix it in a way that is safe to spray right on the animals for wounds and such. I have used it on my rabbits and their equipment and others have used it for years on all kinds of livestock. You can spray it on and not rinse it off, it is fine to stay when it dries. http://www.vanodine.com/ There are tons of places you can buy it from. It really is great stuff.

 

[cmom]

I use bleach. I put a tablespoon to a gallon of water and rinse afterwards and let it dry out thoroughly. I have had no issues with it.