Starting Over, Need Advice

[rays123]

We have to coops that are 8'x8'. Each coop has 4 nests with plenty of roosting areas built in. Currently we have RIR's in one coop and Black Australorps in the other. Somehow several of my chickens ended up sick and we gave them antibiotics to help them get better. Every now and then the symptoms relapse and we administer again. Well my hens are now almost 3 yrs old and they no longer lay enough eggs to justify keeping them so we ordered 30 black stars from McMurray Hatchery. My question is once we get rid of our old hens what can we do to dissinfect the coops and runs to stop our new chickens from getting sick like our previous hens. This time we agreed to no antibiotics and what or chickens to be as natural as possible. Cleaners dont have to be all natural we just want to dissinfect them as best we can. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[speckledhen]

Bleach kills most everything. Oxine is even better, but more expensive by a long shot. The reason your birds kept having relapses is because they were carriers of the disease they contracted, even after seeming to recover. It's an endless cycle, sadly. Im sorry for your troubles. Just lime the pens heavily before the new birds get in there.

 

[rays123]

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Thats what I figured it was and Im going to do everything I can to prevent it with my new hens, Thank you for the advice, I also noticed your a fellow North Georgian

 

[wolfandfinch]

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Thats what I figured it was and Im going to do everything I can to prevent it with my new hens, Thank you for the advice, I also noticed your a fellow North Georgian

As someone who hasn't got their hens yet, what can I do to prevent/avoid this myself?

 

[BWKatz]

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Thats what I figured it was and Im going to do everything I can to prevent it with my new hens, Thank you for the advice, I also noticed your a fellow North Georgian

As someone who hasn't got their hens yet, what can I do to prevent/avoid this myself?

As above if ur using an old coop. If a new coop, make sure they are vaccinated and keep coop clean. Use biosecurity measures( see Learning center above.) Be vigilante with ur chickens checking frequently to catch things early . Remember Murphy's Law. It still will eventually happen that someone will get sick no matter what. Just do the best u can.

 

[ARose4Heaven]

PAINT! It seals the wood and makes it easier to disinfect if you do get a disease.

 

[speckledhen]

Painting the wood does make cleaning much easier, to be sure.

Yup, Ray, I grew up in Decatur, GA, then after coming back from military assignments with my DH, moved to Lilburn, then Dacula and finally up here to Mineral Bluff.

 

[Pharm Girl]

I just bought a used coop off Craigslist and first, I quarantined it for a bit (1month+). Most things like lice and mites can't live without a host so I figured if it sat empty for a while they should all die out. Diluted bleach/water will disinfect and hopefully get any mites. Sprinkle around some DE. I also re-painted and stained the entire coop after the clean and quarantine. I even caulked all the corners I could find. An ounce of prevention is worth a healthy flock, but you already know that!
Good luck.

 

[rays123]

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Thats not to far, Im in canton

 

[speedy2020]

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I am guessing the lice won't survive very cold and hot weather.