How To Clean Your Chicken Coop The Right Way

You may think how to clean your chicken coop is pretty self explanatory.  Well it is, sort of.  But the truth is that if you want to prevent diseases in your flock, discourage flies, and be invisible to the neighbors there is a better way to clean your coop than just removing all the dirty straw.  A basic clean out is absolutely necessary. However, it’s important to deep clean your chicken coop once or twice a year as well.

I procrastinated cleaning the chicken coop much too long.  I meant to do it in the spring, and here it is August.  Then I finally picked a day, and guess what, it’s the hottest day of the entire year!  I got started earlier in the day and pretended it was a good thing so the coop would dry faster.  Well the coop did dry, and the birds are happily asleep in their freshly clean coop.

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The end of summer is a great time to clean your chicken coop before the birds spend a lot of time in there over the winter.  It’s also a good idea to clean it in the spring when the weather warms up and any time you notice sick chickens, or are bringing new chickens into your flock.  Even though backyard flocks are generally healthy, disease and pathogens can build up with time.  If you bring a new chicken in, it may not have the same immunity that your birds have.  It’s a good idea to remove as much disease carrying material as possible and to disinfect once in a while.

If you have noticed diseases within your flock, I suggest reading The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow.  I used to check it out from the library when we lived in Portland, but unfortunately the San Antonio system doesn’t have it!

In addition to reducing the likelihood of diseases, deep cleaning your chicken coop will also discourage flies from breeding, reduce potential bad smells, and all around make you a better neighbor.(Don’t be that one neighbor that everyone hates!) One morning of mucking around in chicken muck is well worth it.

How To Clean Your Chicken Coop The Right Way

1. Remove feeders, waterers, nest boxes, (Anything not anchored down)
2. Remove old straw and compost it.
3. Sweep all surfaces thoroughly and knock down any cobwebs.
4. Scrape off any dry chicken droppings with a paint scraper or wire brush.  (I use one like this)
5. Hose the entire thing down inside and out.
6. Keep scraping anything stuck on.  Get it ALL off.
7. Rinse it all out again
8. Soak all surfaces in vinegar.  (Do NOT use bleach, as it can potentially interact with the ammonia in chicken manure).
9. Leave it for twenty minutes to disinfect.
10. Hose it all down again.
11. Leave the coop open to air dry and get sunshine.
12. Wash all feeders and waterers with soapy water.  You can run them through the dishwasher if they fit.
13. Add new bedding to the floor and nest boxes once it’s dry.
14. Replace feeders and waterers.
15. Enjoy your happy chickens in their clean coop!