One of the most important aspects of hygiene in poultry farm is providing adequate ventilation.
You need effective window ventilation up with home-made design which uses plexiglass (safer) and hardware cloth to protect our hens against predators. If you use the deep-litter method of bedding ventilation issues become critical. We opted not to, using shavings on planks over concrete.
Most of our manure gets scraped off platforms and there is little odor thanks to good air flow. First Aid These are what you should as your first aid tools. . ceramic heater water source magnifying glass clean rags cotton balls needle/thread rubbing alcohol tincture of iodine electrolytes on hand, also vitamins apple cider vinegar olive oil sugar electrolytes with antibiotics, would only use in certain circumstances q-tips eye droppers latex gloves blue lotion I would like to share a simple idea about eliminating 6 and 8-legged pests from the moment a coop is built, or given a thorough cleaning. Consider investing in a no-pest strip. Such strips are made of wax impregnated with pyrethins. Made by Vapona, Black Flag, Home Hardware and under various generic labels. These strips can be hung high in a coop or can be shielded from the birds using hardware cloth or metal screening.
Avoid placing over food or water. They kill fleas, ticks, lice, mites, ticks, gnats and most flies. As a preventive they are unsurpassed, and will decrease the need for dusting or spraying birds directly. Available at most hardware stores, tack shops, co-ops, feed stores and agricultural supply houses. Uses in coops, barns, restaurants, hospitals and homes. Added bonus- no fleas in your house, ever if you use them regularly.
I experienced a major problem and diseased chicks entered many backyard flocks, sat times contaminating the existing adults, though most owners saw the problem and were able to check the spread. For others, sadly, deaths and euthanasia became a priority, and vets and government officials became involved. Knowledgeable poultry owners quarantine new birds and many of us operate closed flocks, in which a group of birds enter new premises and remain with only those birds for the duration. Whether you keep chickens or other livestock, hygiene may be as simple as washing your hands between the handling of say, brooder chicks and the touching of existing animals. If you know an individual is ill, both medications and disinfectants may be needed, and all materials that come in contact will have to be clearned or in some cases, destroyed. Sometimes when you lose an animal you must do more than compost the body and you need to become informed. A sink in the coop would be a real treasure, but few of us have one.
There are a lot of issues surrounding coop hygiene and one of the easiest things we can do is to wash our barn clothes regularly, especially when we know there is trouble. Gloves can be a problem and it helps to have a kind that can be wiped down easily or to keep some latex or plastic gloves on hand for situations involving extreme care. If you have a convenient hose or wash tray for boots, you can keep what's in the coop from getting anywhere else, and other things from getting to the coop. You may need a disinfectant from time to time, too. Look at it this way- what if you get new birds some day that seem okay but are diseased or contaminated in some way? Would you risk infecting the birds you have? Without a plan, every new bird becomes a possible source of trouble. Even worse, with government peering into backyard coops, the introduction of certain diseases could mean your whole flock could be forcibly culled. How awful. You might need an isolation cage or coop, it's something to plan for before you have trouble. Choose something that can be disinfected. We spot clean our coop every day. Some owners use the deep litter method but we prefer the regular removal of droppings.
You should decide that any implements you use in the coop will never be used in other parts of the barn, to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria. The porch on the aisleway side of the coop now has coat hooks and other hangers where we can keep a whisk broom, a scraper, buckets,kitty litter scoop, a first aid bag and other things that are for the birds only. Feed will be kept in the feed room in rodent-proof containers, no loose bags open or not are ever kept in other animal coop.. It's important to design your coop in such a way that panels can be unscrewed to inspect wall cavities for pests, and you want to do this so that you don't damage your materials. In cold climates insulation is a must, and you can use the fibreglass/vapor seal/tuck tape method with screwed (not nailed) panels.
Another thing you can do is to caulk cracks and seams, and there are products that can easily be peeled away if you have to open a section of wall. Read the instructions though, you should not apply these with birds nearby. Caulking is a concern. Sometimes you can caulk from the back side of a panel if it's under construction and there are products like Draft-Stop that can be peeled away if you ever have to remove a section. By the way, if you use shavings in the coop and discover that some bales are extra-heavy, they are probably filled with sawdust, from the end of a run at the mill. Next time, ask to put them back and get bales of average weight, and you'll have less dust in the coop. And once or twice a year I shoo the hens out into the run and close the pop door so that I can use the shop vac to get rid of grooming dust, spider webs and debris in nooks and carnnies.
The dropping have some food-grade diatomaceous earth underneath and some leftover seed from wild birdseed treats. I use a paint scraper and a catch bucket to clean up daily, getting most of the droppings that would dampen or foul the coop. Most lime or limestone garden products are alkaline and are designed to neutralize soil acids (sweeten soil). They will burn and I can only imagine the horror of destroying the skin on the feet of chickens. I also avoid masonary products like mortar and quickline. Another item we use is a pest strip to kill flies. We don't have major problems because most of the biting flies will not remain in the shade of a barn, but in August or September we might hand a pyrethin wax strip . Pest Strip. It's good for three months, can be hung over poultry (avoid directly over food/water) and will work on most kinds of insect parasites. Be sure to check any rain barrels of other collection dishes that hold liquids for mosquito larvae- change water as often as you feasibly can! Food storage is a critical subject too. Whichever you choose, keeping food from contamination and any kind of spoilage is vital. If a bag gets wet and you can't use the feed immediately, you may have to get rid of it. And remember not to dump bad food near the coop, or you may attract rodents. If you need them raccoon straps are available at hardware stores. Never use feed which has gotten damp or moldy. If a feed source has had mopisture problems from leakage or flooding, reconsider buying even if the feed seems dry- spores can collect along seams and in the bottom and poison your birds before you know the cause.
These are little I can share for now, more articles on coop hygiene are on the way.
