Keeping Chickens Clean?
Dec 25th, 2009 by Matthew
A clean hen is a happy hen – or so you’d think. Chickens are not naturally clean creatures, they’ll poo in their house and they’ll poo in their nesting box. They’re not one for a clean house, unlike a pig, chickens will happily live in their own poo.
It is however not recommended as this is how pests and diseases are spread. A weekly clean and then a thorough monthly clean is what should be on order.
Some people pick poos daily, others weekly. What I do is remove the top layer of the bedding once a week and refill. Every month I remove the whole lot and make a full fresh bed. It is almost like a deep litter system but not quite the same.
The nesting boxes should never have poo in them. If poo is in contact with eggs for any amount of time, it can cause problems with the eggs. If you are going to eat the eggs then it’s bad but if the eggs are for incubation, it’s disastrous! The cause of poo in nesting boxes is nine times out of ten due to chickens roosting in the box. This should be a definite no-no. Chooks should roost on a perch or on the floor.
Mites are another problem. Many people think that mites only appear if the chicken house is dirty. Wrong! Mites, similar headlice like it clean, dark and warm. Concealed spaces and nooks & crannies are their preferred hiding places. The easiest way to solve this is with a tube of solvent based silicone. Go around and seal the gaps up, every single one – simple! It is not a cure, only a prevention.
Your chooks will soon tell you if there’s a problem. Signs will usually be along the lines of them not going into their house at night and egg production grinding to a sudden halt. If it is really bad, deaths can occur.
The prevention and treatment is a big tub of Diatom (diatomaceous earth) from any good smallholding supplier or animal feeds supplier. Simply follow the instructions and it will usually solve the problem. Some people resort to burning and rebuilding their chicken houses and enclosures if the problem is serious.
Finally, there is no trick or secret to keeping chickens clean. It just takes time and patience. If you let it build up, it will take longer. Done weekly – it is easy!
