clean my hens wooden boxes

Gems · **Joined:** Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:34 am **Posts:** 12

Hi there I need to clean out my hens wooden boxes and remove some crusty smelly poo ect.. I have scraped off the poo but I need to wash them and my first thoughts are to use domestos but is that safe? I can use detergent but that would not kill the germs would it? as you can read I have not done this before and have left it too long so now its a big job.... YUK....

Roova · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:30 am

Im not sure if they are removable or not but maybe you could give them a water blast? (I think they are also called guerneys?). That would get off the majority of the dried on poo and get into the cracks too. Im sure domestos would be fine to use, but it smells quite strongly. Would that put the girls off going back in there to lay I wonder?

For your own health its a good idea to keep the laying area as fresh and clean as possible. Eggs are quite porous and you don't want them absorbing bacteria from poo and then you eating them. Even having to wipe poo off eggs has the potential of having the egg absorb liqued which you don't want either! Ewwwww! If you plan in incubating the eggs you'll have more success with clean eggs too. :-D

Gems · **Joined:** Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:34 am **Posts:** 12

That is a great idea yes I can take them out but I will have to check to see if we have a water blaster thingy or if oh can get one would I still use a disinfectant?

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

Water blasters and detergents are cleaners. They will remove the bulk of organic material which carry the germs.
If you want to remove all the microbes then yes you will need to use a disinfectant. Use it according to directions, for the time period stated ( very important to allow adequate contact and killing time), then rinse off well and air out.
You can use domestos, bleach or a disinfectant specifically designed for animal use ( there are many available)

Sandpit56 · **Joined:** Mon May 23, 2011 2:55 pm **Posts:** 18

I have wooden boxes that are screwed to the wall. I just keep lots and lots of sugar cane mulch in them, and clean out any mess daily.Also in the past I have used just ordinary bi lo disinfectant in a spray bottle and sprayed all the boxes and perches, with no problems.It smells ok too. Just make sure to spray as early as possible so it dries out.

Gems · **Joined:** Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:34 am **Posts:** 12

I used the domestos and it worked well got all the muck off and killed the germs

chickennata · **Joined:** Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:22 pm **Posts:** 3

We have a high pressure gurney and 2 times a year all the boxes get a blast and it cleans them like brand new. We add some detergent and bleach to the gurney after the first blast to remove the poop

purefeather · **Joined:** Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:36 pm **Posts:** 736

Before you put the straw back in your nest boxes you could sprinkle some sulphur based powder in the boxes, makes it less attractive to parasites (not too much).

chickennata · **Joined:** Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:22 pm **Posts:** 3

Thank you for the tip I will try that next time I clean out mine, do you use a particular brand?

purefeather · **Joined:** Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:36 pm **Posts:** 736

Pestene , I used to get sulphur powder from my favorite produce store . Not so easy to get these days.

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