What's the risk of dormant disease?

[jendh]

Hi! My family has inherited a chicken coop that was built by the original owner of our house (circa 1984). I'm very interested in rehabbing it, as it seems to be a less expensive option than building new. So my question is: What is my risk of exposing new chickens to disease that is laying dormant either in the soil or in the coop itself? I have no information about what kind of chickens were raised here or what their fate was. Also, is there some method for disinfecting an area for the introduction of new birds, I'd really like to avoid chemicals if at all possible. Thanks so much!

 

[patandchickens]

I would suggest cleaning it out well (wear a dustmask -- *seriously*), and then:

-- prime and paint all the paintable indoor surfaces,

-- rake some lime into the soil if it's a dirt floor, or clean the floor real well and paint it if it's plywood, or put a new layer of vinyl flooring or thin plywood down if the floor is very ucky and not fully cleanable e.g. lots of crevices between floorboards.

And you should be good

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ranchhand]

Congratulations on finding a home with a coop! We saw this crazy old house and liked it, and once I found out it had a sort-of coop? SOLD! Basically, we bought a coop with a house attached,

And I agree with what Pat said in terms of getting it ready for a new flock.

Good luck and happy chickeneering!

 

[Davaroo]

Whats the risk? Yes.

There is a risk. Much of that risk depends on the last time chickens were housed in the space. The longer chickens stay on soil, the more likely certain parasitic diseases are to accumulate... and the likelier these diseases are to remain. At the core of the matter is the birds' droppings and the conditions they create. As the droppings break down, they change the chemical composition of the soil which makes it suitable for the parasites. If there is a lot of dropping material in the soil from years of confined rearing, diseases endemic to poultry can remain for some time.

But these parasites have a life cycle which, when broken, ultimately leads to their demise. This is why it has always been advised to rotate your birds around the place annually and not leave them in one spot. This "sweetens" the soil and allows time for these disease agents to die off. It is the soil borne diseases that get em first....

A minimum of three years dormancy was the old fashioned rule of thumb, longer if the chickens were intensely reared on a chosen spot. Typically, it was also recommended that cover crops be planted on the former chicken areas, to further assist in the breakdown of potential chicken diseases. Raking lime into the soil can be a quick fix, but nothing beats time and the elements for killing off parasites.

As for the coop, the old fashioned method was to lime wash the interior what we call 'whitewash'. This coating is antimicrobial, and interior surfaces coated with it are close to pest and disease free. It is nearly forgotten today, however, and you would most likely have to make your own, if you are chemical adverse - and inclined to use it. It has several advantages, not the least is that it is cheap. It is also white and so makes it easier to spot problems, filth, etc. It does require annual refreshing, which has the added benefit of keeping you "in touch" with what is going on in the coop.

If you can abide common household bleach, then a 5% solution sprayed on after a through cleaning should do the job, but without the other benefts of white wash.

 

[bargain]

I would try to take out and away the dirt and droppings into another location where there are no chickens at least 5 inches of dirt in the coop. Bleach alone doesn't kill everything. We have bought a disinfectant use it too clean after we clean soap and water, then soap and water and then spray down with this treatment. You could use oxine from eggcartons.com ....I believe there'a free ship out there. This is from their site:

Disinfectant : Used to disinfect Poultry houses and equipment.
OxineAH is arguably the best disinfectant made. It can be mixed with water and fogged on the birds as well as disinfecting the Poultry house. OxineAH eliminates most Bacteria and viruses including the dreaded Avian Influenza Virus.

It's great to clean...

Great success and be sure that coop has plenty of ventilation for the spring/summer heats.

Enjoy!

 

[eponagirl]

OXINE...you can also get it from the chicken doctor...http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/ look in his online store under disinfectants. He is great at answering any questions about it's use too. Supposed to work as the best killer of virus', mold spores, bacteria, etc... use it "unactivated" around the poultry....perhaps activated on the coop itself and give it time to air out before actually adding chickens to it. DO a google search for "oxine chickens" and you'll find a great article on how someone uses oxine.