cleaning of run and house - how often?

[barleymo]

Sorry guys, it's me again with yet another question.

We've had our hens 3 weeks today. They are doing brilliantly and are going from strength to strength. They have a large enclosed run with a roof, with a ramp up to their coop and nest boxes. They have access to a large securely grassed area of the garden all day, when they are feeling brave enough to venture outside (little and often but I'm sure this will change once they've gotten stronger and more feathered).

My question is how often should I clean out their run and coop? I currently remove all soiled newspaper from the coop every day. I do the same with any soiled straw in their nest boxes. I have been liberally dusting both coop and boxes with diatom, but as yet haven't given it a good clean out with poultry shield.

Also, their run has a base of aubiose which has been gradually built up on top of grass since they arrived. There is one bales worth now down on the floor. Other than a liberal dusting of diatom every week, and cleaning out of any old veg and feed they've thrown around, I've not touched it. I have some stalosan f which I want to use. Should I remove all the aubiose first then apply the stalosan and new bedding?

I'd appreciate your suggestions please as I'm a newbie and want to get this right for our six girls.

Many thanks.

 

[Marigold]

It's really good that you clean out the droppings from the coop every day, as otherwise they can produce a buildup of ammonia fumes which is very bad for the hens when roosting overnight (well, you wouldn't like it in your bedroom, would you?) you may find that Aubiose is more suitable for the nestboxes than straw, as its so much more absorbent and comfortable, plus being much easier to keep clean. I don't think you need or should use liberal quantities of diatom, because it's very dangerous if breathed in, either by you or the hens. It can do the same sort of abrasive job on your lungs as it does on the redmite, and can produce respiratory problems in the hens for the same reason. Just sprinkle a little along the areas where one surface joins another, resulting in a little crack or cranny where the redmite could hide away during the day, such as perch ends where they fix into the walls, or right angled joins between the sides and front or back. Redmite won't hang around on the flat surfaces, they need somewhere dark and concealed to hide until they can emerge at night to seek out the hens. If you give your hens Red Stop in their drinking water, and have started off with a new clean coop, you are unlikely to be affected by redmite, or much less so, especially if you have a plastic coop. Every so often I take my plastic coop to pieces and give it all a good scrub with Poultry Shield. I don't do this as often as I really should, because my plastic coop seems to stay pretty clean with daily attention and I've never had any redmite. If yours looks reasonably clean, without droppings soiling the walls or perches, and smells clean, it's probably OK. More important to keep the drinkers and feeders very clean, with a good scrub every time you change the water to prevent algae growth, in my opinion.

Personally I poo pick the Aubiose floor of my run every day. The droppings are very easy and clean to remove as the Aubiose coats the sticky surface and makes them possible to pick up without mess. I find that if I leave them, they quickly get scratched in to the Aubiose bedding, and are then hard to locate. The Aubiose does dry them out, but the bedding gets dirty deeper down much sooner. I just put the droppings plus their Aubiose coating straight on to the garden round established shrubs and plants, as a weed mulch. It breaks down and fertilises without being too 'hot' for older plants or trees, and acts as a weed germination prevention. Or you can add it to a compost heap of course. Again, if the run is kept clean it won't attract flies or smell at all.

 

[Icemaiden]

This is one of those questions with more than one right answer.
Personally I, like you, remove the poo from the coop & nestbox each day. (I concur with Marigold that Aubiose is much better for the nestbox than straw, by the way.)
I also poo pick the floor of the run each day; some people poo pick their runs less often- it comes down to personal choice. I find it easier on my back to do a little each day rather than a major stint once a week. It also keeps things cleaner under foot. I recommend disposable gloves for poo picking- maybe not terribly environmentally friendly, but nice & hygienic.

Each week I remove all of the bedding from the coop & nestbox, sweep it out & clean it out with Poultry Shield (unless it's about to rain, in which case I make do with powder disinfectant), scrub the perches with Poultry Shield & then, when it's dry, apply liberal amounts of diatom, as unlike Marigold, I have a T&G wooden coop with lots of nooks & crannies for red mite to hide in. (My next coop will be plastic...)
I do think I ought to get some dust masks to wear for the sweeping out; as Marigold says, you don't really want to breathe in the diatom as it won't do your lungs any good.

I also clean the feeder properly once a week, & clean the drinkers every day or two to prevent algal growth.

Aubiose & hen poo makes fantastic compost by the way, & breaks down lawn mowings in no time.
Hope this helps.