How often to do a deep coop clean?

How often you need to do a deep clean is going vary depending on several factors. The number of chickens, the type of chickens, your space, your bedding style, and your weather conditions. Bedding in chicken coops and runs should be changed frequently with the exception of deep bedding method. Deep bedding is done when you layer fresh material on top of old material until you reach capacity. When you utilize deep bedding method the entire ground covering in the coop and run area is changed bi-annually or annually again depending on your specific situation and the bedding is then composted. In most other cases bedding is removed and changed as frequently as is needed. Deep bedding method is not appropriate for all coop and run situations.

How will you know when your coop and run need to be cleaned? A properly maintained coop and run do not smell bad. Just like a cat box that has not been properly maintained, a poorly maintained chicken area will develop an odor. This is not only unappealing but life threatening to your birds. Too much exposure to their own droppings can give chickens ammonia toxicity as well as a host of other foot and health ailments. Change and refresh chicken ground covering when you notice an accumulation of droppings or the area begins to smell. You can also utilize scoops and rakes to clean specific areas of high dropping accumulation.

Scrape droppings from perches, toys, and boxes daily. I keep a tool in our coop area specifically for this task to ensure our birds don’t walk through their own mess on the way to bed at night. It takes a few minutes each day and makes deeper cleans easier.

Every other month approximately I wash all our chicken equipment and their coop area with Bronner’s castile soap and a scrub brush. Scrubbing the surfaces they come into contact with frequently helps prevent disease and keeps your birds healthy and clean.

For your chickens themselves be sure they have adequate access to an area to dust bathe. Ours have dedicated tubs filled with dirt. Given the chance to forage they will likely also scratch a bath patch somewhere in your yard. Provide a bathing area in their run if applicable to make sure they have the option of dust bathing as much as possible. It is their first line of defense against many chicken ailments.

I regularly wash their water containers with Bronner’s soap as well and a dedicated scrub brush. Only a small amount of soap is needed to clear out mold from their water containers. Scrub and rinse until no bubbles or soap remains.

These practices are part of regular maintenance. Parasite or other possible environmental complications require additional measures.

Clean your chicken housing and accessories often. The cleaner their space is, the more enjoyable it is for you and the safer and more enjoyable it is for them too.