How do I keep my chickens clean?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 200 comments
Chickens are not naturally clean creatures, unlike the story book ones. Do you remember them? Clean living hens, wearing spotted scarves and venturing out to the market with a basket hooked over a wing and a clutch of chicks close by.
Real life chickens will foul their chicken house and quite often foul the nesting box. The only chicken that I have known to actively ‘clean’ her house was Mrs Boss. When the guinea fowl keets hatched she pulled all the hay from her nest out of their house in the ark. The more clean hay and woodchips I added the more she pushed them into their run. After a couple of weeks, I admitted defeat. The keets slept under Mrs Boss’ wings, on bare boards. I could never understand why she did this.
If chickens are not cleaned out regularly their droppings can harbour and spread disease. Droppings in the nesting box can foul the eggs. Remove any droppings immediately from the nesting box when you see them.
There is also the question of chicken mites. In warmer weather, mites can breed like wildfire in a house that is not treated regularly. They lay their eggs in dark nooks and crannies in the house and are at their most active at night. They bite the chickens and these bites can become infected.
An imaginative Estate Agent might describe our hen house as,
“A Canadian style two storey lodge. Lower floor family room with traditional wooden slatted staircase leading to spacious communal bedroom for 8 plus with half mansard ceiling and door to cosy penthouse nesting box.”
It gets a good cleanout once a week. And a top to toe super valet and repair in the Spring and Autumn.
If you are canny, the weekly cleanout for an average sized house (ours is designed to accommodate 6-8 Maran hens) takes about twenty minutes, often it is completed in ten.
The trick to quick and easy cleaning is to store everything that you might need within a few feet of the chicken house. We keep our chicken consumables in two large barrels in the run. One holds the bedding the other contains sprays, powders, oyster shells, grit and everything that a chicken keeper might need. These storage bins are also popular with the flock as they have another vantage point on which to stand and observe the world.
Our chicken feed is stored in the boot of Danny’s car and in a large aluminium grain store in the garden. Along with the wild bird and Min Pin food.
Generally I pull on my chicken cleaning gloves at midday when the flock are out an about in the run. Initially I spray the inside of the house with a decent anti mite spray. I close the door to the house as I am not sure how safe the spray is for the flock (although it is marked suitable for an aviary with residents). While the spray wafts through the house I collect all the stuff that I need from the barrels. woodchips, fresh hay and mite powder.
The old woodchips, hay and droppings are swept into the chicken run dustpan and go into their bucket (this was sold to me as a nappy bucket and has a lid). This lid is handy as the bucket can sit happily inside the run until it is full.
Once all debris has been removed, I spread wood chips on the floor of the house. These are great as they absorb moisture and make the chicken cleaning process much easier. They are available in enormous chunky packs. and a pack lasts for months. I lay a layer of woodchips in the nesting box topped with a thickish layer of hay. My mum recommended hay for the nests as mites can breed easily in the hollow strands of straw. The hens fashion the hay into nests very quickly, even if they are off lay.
Once fresh chips and hay have been spread, I return to the barrels for oyster shells and grit. I used to put these in a nifty container in the run, now I cast them just before I open the gates to get out. The flock dives for these and before they have discovered that they are not deluxe grain mix I am the other side of the wire. Poultry need grit. Ours find this in the back wall of the run. If yours don’t have access to a wall don’t forget to provide them with grit, if you are feeding them seeds and corn as it essential for breaking down the husks in their gullets.
Chickens are fine on woodchips alone and I have seen many happy hen houses that just have newspaper spread on the floor. Once you find an effective way to keep your chickens clean that suits you, use it on a weekly basis. You and your chickens will bloom.
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Please, Dear Hearts!
You COULD leave the chemicals out…
I find that a bucket of wood ashes (mine’s mesquite) dumped in a depression in a dry corner of the chicken house will be a good “bug bath” for our Clucks. They will “bathe” in it if/when they need it. Watch, and replenish when needful. [If you don’t burn wood for Winter warmth as I do… maybe you can barter some ashes from a friend. Hey! you could also make yourself some Lye Soap, and have squeaky clean dandruff-free (?) hair!]
My Clucks live in my Mama’s old 1942 Rock chicken house, (West Texas) and never heard her complain of any of the bugs or mites with which you folks are troubled. And so far, I haven’t either!
Blessings to all of you!
MuleMarm
Hi Fn. I cant cope with an indian summer! Where are the frosts that I need to kill the pesky red mite?!? Anyway, in the mean time, war has been declared – I have taken your advice and bought red mite powder which will be liberally applied to anything that moves in the viscinity of the hen house tomorrow. Hubby had best remain in his rabbit shed, out of the way!!!
Hi fn – You’re absolutely right (you can youtube it) – he also sang “Feelings” in a dark green velvet smokinf jacket – the lyrics being nothing but a series of “Meeps”! check it out if you can -it’s hilarious espescially when he gets passionate in the main chorus!!!!!
Yes, have tried dropping the pellets etc in different parts of the run and I must admit it is funny to watch Pigglepock running franticly to cover all the posts. It’s more her pecking them on the back of the neck as they even deign to go past her! Maybe I should call her “Queenie” or “Boss”!
Hi Maria
Didn’t Beaker sing Danny Boy with The Swedish chef and Monster – all wearing Arran jumpers?!
There will always be a head hen. Try giving them 2 or 3 feeding stations. This did the trick when my wynadottes arrived.
Awwww! Thanks fn! I’m afraid I love everything to do with the Muppets, especially this little poor thing called ‘Beaker’ – He’s the one who was the ‘guineapig’ for all thos Dr Bunsen Honeydew experiments which always ultimately went wrong – poor Beaker! If you go to the top of this page where it says “sign in” there is is another tab called “Get Your Icon” – follow the links and you can have any pic you want to appear on any forum -as long as it is linked with your e-mail address!
Changing the subject a little: I have a Bovan Goldline (hybrid battery chicken) and recently acquired two Sussex hybrids which are just approaching POL. Needless to say, Pigglepock the brown hen is bullying the two new recruits (Mavis and Bok). I realise this is natural and she is putting them in their place, but when it comes to feeding them, she tries her damndest to be everywhere at the same time in order to stop them getting some food! This has been going on now for three weeks. When will it calm down a bit? Will Pigglepock EVER be friendly with Mavis and Bok? By the way, the run is quite large, so it’s not as if they are in each other’s space all the time!
Maria
Hi Jan
My hens didn’t begin to moult until their second year. It can last for around a couple of months.
Hello Clarence
Your hens just don’t like the wind, I think.
Hi Jan
Yes the cold will kill them. I use mite powder and it’s very effective.
Hi Maria
This is great news that they are finally dying off. I hate them.
BTW your avatar is brilliant.
I am so relieved – as the mites seem to be dying off! Like you, Jan, I was getting frantic and cursing the things! I even had to disinfect my green bin for all things garden rubbish as I had once mistakenly put mite-infested newspaper in there! My husband is still checking his arms, especially at night. But at this time of year, they seem to be dying off.
When I looked under the shredded paper and pages of newspaper in the chicken ark today, I saw nothing; and that is a first for a very long time as they were multiplying even a day after I had disinfected everywhere. Definitely a seasonal thing it seems and we all have the wild birds to thank for any mite infestation!
Hope you all see the light at the end of this particular tunnel!
Maria
Ok folks, this isnt funny any more. I cant believe how fast these red mite crittars reproduce. Its just two days since I cleaned, scrubbed, disinfected and sprayed every nook and cranny in my chooks house, just two days!?! Today when I went to collect the eggs, I just happened to move some of the shavings that are used in the two nest boxes to find another infestation of mites under the shavings! Hubby says the cold will kill them off when the frosts arrive but I dont know. Is this true?? If so, roll on winter!!!
Hi, I have just got 4 9 week old pekin bantam hens who i was told are fine to be outside. I’m a bit worried as I got them out this morning and they stayed out for a bit but keep going back indoors and huddling up together. They have a good thick layer of bedding in the house and it’s not that cold but a bit windy today. Is it just that they are young and need to settle in or are they cold? Any advice welcome.
Hi. I have had my girls since April of this year and they were POL when I bought them. They have laid almost every day since which is great. Can anyone tell me when they are likely to go into moult and how long roughly will it last?