Watering system drained in coop, thick mold everywhere, birds damp and everything sopping wet, tempe

[stonefeather]

I have an odd situation. I have an automatic watering system in my chicken coop fed by a 45 gal water tank. The tank has completely drained into my coop over the couple days and I have so much mold everywhere that I can write my name on the walls and ceiling. The mold is so thick that it almost looks like the ceiling and walls are covered in white snow at least 1/8 of an inch think.

The tank must have been slowly leaking for the last couple weeks because I noticed recently I was getting a moisture problem. The leak must of suddenly became more sever and drained the entire tank. I use the deep littler method (almost 24 inches of bedding in each pen) and I think it took a little while for the bedding to wick the water up to the surface. I saw a little mold starting in the corner two days ago and now it is everywhere. I live in Wisconsin, and I have about 5 hours before the temperature plummets 30 degrees into the single digits. I am going to remove all the wet bedding and dry everyone off immediately. I will also try to relocate as may birds as possible, but I do not have enough room to move them all. I am looking for help on what to do about the mold. I am thinking of putting some kind of drying agent all over the ceiling and walls and floor such as lime. Also I have a space heater I use for the coop when it gets really cold that I will turn on. I want to air out the coop but we have high winds, snow, rain, and ice coming.

If you have any ideas, please let me know. I will be outside shoveling lots of wet bedding, but will check back periodically.
Thanks!

 

[stonefeather]

I should mention that the walls and ceiling are plywood and the floor is cement blocks.

 

[stonefeather]

OK....it's not quite 1/8 inch think, but this is the white mold all over my coop.

 

[Sseckel]

Ugh, glad I am not in your shoes today, it is -3F and windy where I am today, not that that helps you at all. However if I were you I would

-remove the bedding
-vacuum the walls and ceilings with a shop vac and hepa filter
-thoroughly coat the walls ceilings and floors with a garden safe fungicide (most can be used on food plants so I would (think) they would be ok around a flock so long as a reasonable amount is used), make sure the waters and feeders are outside when you do this.
-apply a thin layer of bedding and lime.

I would personally not use the space heater inside the coop, put your flock in a garage until they are dry but the heater in the coop will only make the mold happy as it thrives in warmer temps. The coming cold could be a blessing in disguise to help halt this problem.

Good luck!

 

[Sseckel]

oh I almost forgot, wear a mask in there. Even though it isn't "Black Mold" most molds cause allergies especially when concentrated. Better safe than sorry or sneezy and miserable.

In teh spring I would consider using a mold blocking bathroom paint in there to help prevent this again as it is going to be impossible to get all of it out.