used pen - never cleaned by previous owners

[LaGeniaLoca]

There's a used pen next to my animal shed that previously housed turkeys and chickens. The owner of these birds NEVER cleaned it. Now, I want to clean it out and use it for my chickens, but is it usable? I started digging out the 4 inch layer

of dried shiznit and found all different colors of mold in the dirt underneath

! What does it need to make it usable again??

 

[canesisters]

BLEACH! and maybe a coating for some sort of sealent paint.....

 

[TigerLilly]

First, PLEASE tell me you are wearing some kind of mask while doing this!
I would probably dig down a little more & use lime or de to cover the fresh ground. I'm not an expert, but it's what I'd do.

 

[TigerLilly]

Quote:
I was thinking DIRT FLOOR, not concrete...

 

[Jay262]

It should be fine just try to make sure you get cleaned out as much as possible if your still concerned bleach it. I cleaned out a old pen like this myself it used to hold sheep and the previous owner never cleaned and when i got it the manure inside alot of it had begun to compost and was dirt it was inside so long. I cleaned it and housed chickens/ducks/geese in it for years later.

 

[LaGeniaLoca]

It is NOT a concrete floor. It's a chainlink fence on actual dirt. Can't really bleach dirt...

After removing the crap layer, I removed a few more inches of mold layer, and still hadn't reached the "clean" dirt, so I've stopped for now, but really need the pen.

 

[Kobey]

I'd deep bed it. By that I mean take a shovel drive it all the way down and basically "flip" the dirt over. That way you in effect burry the bad and bring up the clean dirt. It's work to be sure but then you will not have to worry about how far to go or what to do with the removed material.

 

[Beekissed]

I'd remove the old bedding for sure but I'd not try to get rid of any germs....nigh impossible and they just might be the kind you need to expose young chicks to in order to develop immunities. Good to expose them early and often to the germs older birds may carry. If they survive, that's good. If they don't, it was likely they wouldn't do well anyway and you'd constantly be treating them for one thing or another.

 

[chickendales]

if the pen has been out in the sun the uv ray well kill every thing and heavy winter

 

[groundpecker]

Step 1 : Remove as much of the debris you can get to. Shovel it out and far away from your birds. Spay the entire area with a 50/50 bleach/water solution and let dry
Step 2 : Repeat step one a day or two later.
Step 3 : Introduce new dirt where you dug the old shiznit out and do one final spray of the entire area and let it sit for a week or more before introducing new birds.
It would be wise to only put 1 or 2 birds in there to see if they get sick, keeping others away from it. Once you are sure they are not getting sick, i would say it is safe to introduce other birds to your new pen.

Don't forget to use a mask, gloves, and safety glasses when cleaning. Also change clothes and clean shoes..ect before handling your flock.