How often should I Clean my Chicken Coops?

This entry was posted on 15 March 2021 in Chicken Coops.

Keeping your chickens happy and comfortable in their coop relies on you cleaning the coop regularly. Cleaning your chicken coop involves different forms of daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance. If you own a flock of chickens, you’re going to care about them. Routine cleaning of the chicken coop is the best way to look after your chickens.

• Every night, make sure you dispose of any leftover food or water, this prevents pest infestations occurring and keeps the area hygienic.
• Once a week, scoop up all the droppings and lay down a new fresh bedding inside the coop.
• 1-2x a year, conduct a deep clean of the coop to ensure it’s still a happy and healthy place for your chickens.

Let’s explore the key ways you should be cleaning your chicken coop.

General Maintenance

General maintenance of your chicken coop is about keeping the coop clean, hygienic, and comfortable for your chickens. Use a scoop to collect all droppings and scrub at the nesting boxes and all around the inside of the coop. 

Regularly removing the build up of chicken poop from the bedding in the coup prevents ammonia developing within the coop. Ammonia can cause a wide range of health issues for your flock such as itching eyes and respiratory illness.

Diluting white vinegar with water creates a natural, non-toxic cleaning solution ideal for use inside chicken coops. It’s also an affordable alternative to brand-name cleaning products that removes bacteria and scrubs away dirt effectively. 

Once you’ve scooped up all chicken poop from the droppings board, it’s time to lay down fresh bedding. Laying fresh bedding keeps your chickens comfortable, and also prevents the build-up of bacteria that can create an unhygienic environment for your flock.

When cleaning the coop, it’s important to take the appropriate precautions. There are a few risks that can be easily mitigated, by using the right cleaning products and protective equipment. Wear gloves, a mask, and change your clothes after cleaning the coop.

Full Deep Clean

A full deep clean is much more thorough than your standard spring cleaning tasks. It’s something you only have to do annually and should focus on areas of the coop you don’t normally clean. The purpose of a full deep clean is to ensure the chicken coop keeps its quality and durability for the long-term.

Before conducting a full deep clean, make sure you move your chickens to another location.

Below are steps to follow when conducting a deep clean of your chicken coop.

1. Find the right cleaning products
2. Change your clothes and shoes, and put on your protective equipment; gloves, mask, and goggles, for example.
3. Remove all the dirt, droppings, and feathers from the floor of the coop. 
4. Clean and spray down the coop..
5. Take the time to clear away all debris and waste, and scrub down all the surfaces inside and outside the coop using a safe disinfectant.
6. Hose down the walls, floor, and nesting boxes as well as the feed stores and waterers. 
7. Sweep away standing water and check for any areas that need further cleaning. If everything is clean you can leave the area to air dry. Fresh air and sunlight is a great way to breathe new life into your chicken coop.

Chickens love a fresh coop and annual deep cleaning creates a clean and comfortable environment for them.

Changing The Bedding in a Chicken Coop

Changing the bedding in the chicken coop once a week is an important step to follow when caring for your chickens. Droppings, feathers, and waste all collect on bedding which can create an unhygienic environment. Allowing your chickens to live on soiled bedding could cause them to become ill due to bacterial growth and ammonia being released into the atmosphere.

There are a variety of materials that can be used as bedding in chicken coops, including pine shavings, straw, sand, and wood shavings. All have their own benefits such as being moisture absorbent, soft and comfortable, and having insulation properties. Wood shavings are also easily disposable as once soiled they can be added onto a compost pile. A process that forms a compost pile out of your chicken’s droppings is called the deep litter method. Using a moisture-absorbent bedding allows droppings to collect on the surface which makes them easy to scoop up. However, even if you don’t use the deep litter method, wood shavings can still compost effectively.

Cocoon Chicken Coops

Cleaning your chicken coop is how you keep your chickens happy, healthy and ensure the coop remains durable long-term. However, first, you need to install a high-quality coop that’s the perfect home for your chickens. At Cocoon Chicken Coops, we offer a wide range of chicken coops, houses, and runs featuring the latest contemporary designs such as curved roofs.