Drinkers!

[poly]

Hi,

just wondering if I can use Barrier V1 for cleaning drinkers as well as the coop? I don't have a dishwasher and just wanted to make sure to keep them from going green! I'm changing the water every night and making sure they are in the shade.
Also do people give their coops a quick wipe around with a disinfectant each week? I have a greenfrog plastic coop.

Thanks!

 

[Marigold]

What you’re doing sounds very good. I keep a brush by the tap and scrub round the drinker when I change the water. Occasionally I put the drinker through the dishwasher but if I didn’t have one I would simply scrub it when necessary with hot water and dishwashing liquid in the sink. If you want to use disinfectant then Barrier VI is the best, it smells lovely, and it’s also good for your own kitchen worktops.

Yes a wipe round of the coop every week is a good idea, whilst checking for redmite, especially the back door on a GF which can get dirty from droppings deposited by the birds on the back perch, but the important thing, I feel, is to remove the droppings every day without fail. I use a nice thick layer of Aubiose on the floor and in the nest boxes, so the droppings are easy to pick up. I also pick up droppings from the run floor every day. Actually the hens I have at the moment prefer to roost on an open high perch under the roof of their run, in all weathers, so the coop doesn’t really get dirty at all.

How much cleaning you do depends a lot on how many birds you have and how much space per bird is available. If it’s less than 2sq.m. each the run will get dirty very fast. Equally important is to inspect their bum feathers every day in case they are getting dirty from loose droppings, which is a sign of illness and might attract flies and lead to fly strike, which can be fatal. You don’t have to pick up each bird, just observe them moving around in the run to check that they look clean, lively and normal.

 

[poly]

Thanks Marigold I went for the same coop as you as it sounded great and I'm really pleased with it, so thank you! Thanks for the tip about the door, I'll keep an eye on that. I'm using Aubiose which seems great and poo picking a couple of times a day.

With regards the drinkers - so it's safe to use Barrier V1 actually in the drinkers with a swish out? I haven't bought any yet so I'll see how I get on with just a washing up liquid and changing the water every day. I bought a smite disinfectant which doesn't sound so good but I'll maybe use that up before I get the Barrier stuff. I was just concerned that the drinkers might go green if I didn't use something strong to clean them with.

They are in a 90 square ft run so that's just over 2m squared each as there are 4 of them. I'm also letting them out into a much bigger garden area for a few hours most days.

If they do have a messy bottom what do I wipe/clean them with? Sometimes they have a little bit of poo kind of still there (if you know what I mean?!) but I wouldn't say they were messy.

Many thanks

 

[Icemaiden]

Hi Poly.
To be honest, if you're cleaning your drinker every day, a dash of washing up liquid on your cleaning brush/ sponge should be enough, then a good rinse to remove any residue.

As far as dirty bottoms go, if it's just a little mess, they'll probably remove it when they have a dustbath. If the feathers start to get stuck together with poo, then your options are
a) to trim the affected feathers to remove any clumps of poo (use your garden scissors rather than your kitchen ones!) or

b) stand the affected bird in a bowl of tepid water & wash their soiled feathers to remove the poo. Don't add any soap as this would interfere with their waterproofing).

Hope that helps,
Icemaiden

 

[bigyetiman]

We just give our drinkers a wash with hot water and washing up liquid, done regularly keeps the green algae at bay in the hot summer months.
Same with the odd mucky bum, little trim if needed and a wash in warm water. Mostly they dust bathe it off before you get to them. One thing with hens they spend a lot of times with head down, and bottoms up so you soon notice a mucky bum.
Always amazed at the the height they can deposit poop in a coop, perhaps they have competitions in the wee small hours

 

[poly]

Thanks both! They are rescue hens and currently have very much bare bottoms!! So any poo would be visable, bless them!

Good to know about the drinkers. I had read lots about people using special stuff to clean them so got worried I should be doing something special other than a little swoosh about and wash each day.

I'm going to start another thread on cleaning now as I have a few more questions!!

Thanks again!