How To Clean Your Coop Without Water In Winter
It is the fall season still as I write this but freezing temperatures are almost here for my region. When the temperatures dip below 35F degrees it’s not advisable to use water to clean your chicken coop. Introducing excess moisture into your coop during times of freezing temperatures contributes to frost bite conditions. Sanitation and maintenance of your chicken area is important year-round but especially in the winter time when poor ventilation coupled with soiled litter, excess droppings, and muddy conditions can lead to things like frostbite, ammonia toxicity, or respiratory issues in your flock. The following are tools and techniques that have proven effective for me maintaining my chicken area during freezing temperatures without water. Prior to freezing temperatures taking hold in your area if that applies to you, be sure to do deep seasonal clean to prepare your chicken area for the winter ahead.
The tools I use to clean my chicken coop without water are:
A dry-wall scraper for removing droppings from accessories, boxes, roosts, and perches.
A hard bristled brush to remove additional particulate matter and stuck on dirt.
A micro fiber dust cloth.
For my spot clean and scoop areas I also use:
A slotted scoop for scooping heavily soiled areas of droppings.
A bucket to remove the heavily soiled shavings and droppings and put them in the compost or garbage.
I’m sharing what has been effective for me keeping maintaining my chicken area during freezing temperatures. I’m also certain prior to the arrival of winter to perform a deep seasonal clean.
I use the dry-wall scraper to remove droppings daily from roosts, perches, and boxes. I use deep bedding method in the coop so as droppings fall to the coop floor, I cover them with my chosen ground cover litter which is pine shavings. Annually, the deep bedding is removed in entirety so it doesn’t harbor harmful pests and bacteria from year to year. In the spring season the used litter is removed to the compost where it processes before going onto the garden.
I use the hard bristle brush to continue to clean the perches and roosts as well as any flat surfaces that can be brushed clean.
For the final step I go over the area with a microfiber dusting towel to clean away as much particulate and dust as I can. I’ll also run my microfiber towel over any surfaces I can reach trying to clear away as much dust and cobwebs as I can. Reducing dust is important to safeguarding your chicken’s health during the winter time. Ventilation is high in the coop and covered with hardware cloth to allow stale, soiled air to escape and to allow fresh air in without giving access to predators.
I use my pine shavings to cover heavily soiled areas underneath perches and roosts. I will also use the shavings to address areas in the chicken run that I know will become muddy as the season turns colder and the region experiences seasonal winter rains and precipitation. A little bit of prevention goes a long way to protect the health of your chickens. Reducing mud in your chicken area helps combat the conditions that contribute to frostbite.
In my coop I’m also certain to do a full refresh of my nesting boxes. I use straw as my nesting box liner. Straw isn’t recommended as a ground covering in an exposed chicken run because straw retains a lot of moisture. However, I use straw in my dry chicken coop because it has a metal roof and never leaks. The old nesting box liner goes onto the floor as cover litter. I hand empty, scrap, clean and brush out the nesting box. I finish with my microfiber cloth to remove as much of the old nesting material as possible. I then refill the nesting boxes with fresh straw. I do an additional optional step. Since I have access to long yard grass, lemon balm, and mint in my garden I also add these items to my nesting boxes. The grass is soft and is a safe, free nesting material. The lemon balm and mint from my garden are natural insect deterrents that are safe to be used around my flock. I also add some lemon balm and mint to the ground litter. I don’t use any chemicals in my yard or garden so these plants are safe to be used around my chickens. I would not recommend the use any plants that have been sprayed with harmful yard chemicals, weed, or insect sprays around your chickens. These chemicals could harm or kill of your flock. Once the boxes are filled with fresh straw and garden herbs, they are ready for use. The garden herbs again are an optional step. If you don’t have access to these herbs simply fresh straw, hay, dry leaves, grass, nesting pads, or your chosen box liner will be wonderful and very appreciated by your hens.
In the chicken areas where I use spot clean and scoop method, I use the same tools I use in my deep bedding areas to clean roosts and perches. I scrap first with the dry-wall scraper. I follow that with the hard bristle brush. I finish with the microfiber towel. Using a scoop, I’ll remove any areas of heavy droppings. I replace the soiled and removed shavings with fresh shavings.
Smaller chicken areas will need to be cleaned more frequently. The larger the flock, more frequent maintenance will be required. In my experience cleaning daily and performing timely, deep seasonal clean helps to keep the chicken area pleasant to work in and keeps my flock healthy.
I hope these tips for cleaning your coop without water in winter are helpful to you as you begin your preparations for the winter season with your flock.
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Chuck and the Chicks 