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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Hi Ann n Mick
If you keep chickens you will eventually have to deal with mites. I don’t know what causes them but prevention is the route that I take. I clean out the chicken house each week and every month or so I spray the house with aviary spray to kill parasites. I also dust any nook and cranny with mite powder. The nesting box is also dusted with the powder so that when the hens go in to lay they are automatically dusted too.
Don’t fill in nooks and crannies with gravel as the mites would love to hide there!
Hello Linda
Thank you so much for all this really useful information. Much appreciated.
Hi Tracey
What a brilliant idea! I have a blow torch so will use it when the time comes.
I know someone who keeps ducks on bark chippings. It helps to keep down the smell.
Hi Jenny
There will always be one hen at the bottom of the pecking order but there are things that you can do to help that hen. You don’t say how big your run is but more space gives hens more freedom. You could also hang a cabbage in the run, It needs to be at a height so the chickens need to stretch a bit to peck it. This is a good distraction. A football in the run is good too as they will play on it for hours. If you distract your hens they won’t have so much time for bullying.
Hi there
Just come across your website,really enjoyed reading the comments.
We had red mite in June time and yes we also came running into the shower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! horrible.
We wanted a no chemical way to rid the mites and was told to use a blow torch (like the ones plumbers use ,we bought ours from Halfords £10ish)to burn all the mites from the nooks and crannys. They ceratinly come running out!
Touch wood we seem to be on top of them now. we have dusted our chickens with powder as well.
We keep our chucks on wood chippings. A full ale in each shed which lasts a month if turned each week.
Hi all I wanted to write because over 5 yrs ago I was raising mallard. that was my 1st experience with yard birds. I got to learn some things like how to keep out varmants etc. I’m now raising chickens. mites are a problem. in my research I found that D.E. diamacea earth (food grade) is good to dust on to the chickens &on the dog for fleas& to mix with their feed took care of the fly problem in the chick pen.also suppose to help with mites. as far as bedding use hay instead of straw or use cedar. cedar is a natural bug deterent. it an be applied to the chickens with no harm & to the coope. for DE> food grade check ur farm or feed store or I have a web site. DE is also good health benefits 4u too. the cedar oil is also on the web th ere is bedding, spray 4 mites etc,& garden & coope. there is also 1 4 sealing wood like decks. the site I go to is cedar al just tell them LINDA recommended them as well as the site 4 DE. hope this info will b of use to U guys! oh u can also use 7 dust 4 the coope & dust the chicks but not feed it to them. where DE is good in & on as long as it is food grade not the DE from lows or home depot that is not food grade. don’t want to poison our girl now do we ! If any of U have any questions feel free to email me
What a helpful and brilliantly informative website!… we have adopted 10 ex battery hens and have adapted an old but large shed for them, its been 2 weeks and they are very happy, (we even sit in there with a cup of tea some evenings and watch them manouver for their favourite roosting place-sad us!) anyway, there are no mites present but I want to keep it that way, can you tell me what brings them in the first place? also, we wash the floor most days but there are lots of nooks n crannys hard to get to, should we fill them with shingle/stones?…thank you.
Hi Marc
As the days get shorter and colder they will go off lay. Roll on December 21st and the shortest day! You should start getting eggs in January.
hi all
i have really liked all the advice as i am new to keeping chickens. i have 6 differnet hens and i have had them about 6 weeks now. for the past 5 weeks i have had 2-3 eggs everyday but for the past week i have had nothing. should i start looking for any signs they are under the weather or is it quite natural?
Hi Susie
The chickens have got mites and need to be treated with mite powder. Ring your petshop – they will know where to get some if they don’t stock it yourself.
A good flea spray should kill the mites in your house. Spray the hen house well with a decent aviary spray – particular;ly under the perch and in all dark corners. Then clean it out throughly.
Infestations of mites can make chickens feel very off colour.
HELP !!!!! I been looking after some chcikens for my mum this week while she on holiday and one of em looked so sick so i brought inside and put her on my lap and wrapped her up warm, she seems to be ok noiw but when i put her on the floor there where little insects all over me i stupidly rubbed them off now they are everywhere on the carpet, the sofa my clothes ME !!!! I got a dog are these gonna effect my dog, what do i do to get rid of them they wont leave, i got chnaged i showered i hoovered ?
Hi Nigel
If you put gravel in the run, it helps. Also clean out the hen house once a week.
Hi Rhona
This happened to me. Shower and wash your hair and the clothes that you were wearing. That should get rid of them.
I have 5 lady hens just founded out they too have mites we have sprayed house and run with jeyes but when i go in the little things are all over you, can any one tell me do they live on us,you shower well but some still cling on