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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Could anyone please tell me the best way to treat scaly leg? We have just got some new ladies and our old girls, who have now passed away, had scaly leg. I want to make sure that my new ones dont get this at any time.
Please help.
hi lee redmite are just a nusiance not a problem.redmite will not live on chickens they drink blood then go into hiding till the next day.you can move her and powder them but i give them access to a hole ive dug out put a bucket o sand in within 2 or 3 days there clean again.then i spray the hen house.i spray my hen houses first week in march with a solution of 50 percent vinager 50 percent disinectant mixed.then the first week in september i repeat the cleaning but then i paint inside them with a cheap white paint.paint seals all the cracks up so if theres any eggs or young mites there killed.ive done this for a few years so if i follow this routine i dont get a lot of problems with them.hope ive been a bit of use
Hi there, i am in New Zealand and have had chooks for the last 10 years. I have just had an outbreak of red mites in a small hutch that I had put a broody hen in with fertile eggs. The chicks hve started hatching out today and I was checking on them and noticed the mites crawling all over mum and eggs and prob the new babys, help, If I treat mum with powder then put her along with her brood into a new clean house will this be enough to treat any mites on the newborns. I am very worried as they are so young. I to had to run for the shower it is the middle of summer here and has been very hot, dry and humid. Your advice will be much appreciated, thankyou.
Can anybody advise me on the best place to buy POL girls in south essex pls? I am having a bit of a mare trying to find somewhere with a good reputation i.e. somewhere that vaccinates and actually looks after their stock before they sell it! This will be my first venture in to havings chooks and although I am pretty clued up on the theory side I have no idea where to buy chooks. Please please help!!! 🙂
Hello Stuart
This site isn’t just this post! It’s pretty active at the moment. It’s nearly 2 o’clock and I still havven’t finished answering posts 🙂
Our hens are pretty quiet too. No eggs as yet this year. They don’t like the snow at all and are holed up in the chicken house after they’ve guzzled the morning treat of corn. But most are over five years old and the young one is too young to lay. The other yound one died a couple of days ago, just too cold for her.
this sites quiet at the moment i dont believe nobodys having problems i am my hens wont come out to play they dont like yorkshire snow its over a foot deep on my allotment……….
Thank you for your replies and Yes, you are right, there is a rat!!! We have seen it, its a cocky one, strolls around like it owns the place. We have set traps are are now waiting. Our home is very close to fields so it is only to be expected but it was still a shock none the less. Thanks again.
Hi Stuart
Thanks for this. I reckon that Mrs P might have an infestation of rats. They are everywhere at this time of year.
my chickens are on an allotment and this time of year we have a massive problem with rats the fields are bare so there coming in looking for food.i set 5 snapper traps with a bit of old pork on and im catching 2 or 3 daily. the trouble with poison its far to expensive.
Hello Mrs P
Mites would not stop your hens going in to roost.
The enemy must be far bigger.
I don’t know where you live but it could be rats, mongoose, snakes, fox, cats or dogs.
Normally, hens want to go into their house to roost. If they are holding back something fairly large has put them off.