Maintaining
your coup does not have to be time consuming or difficult. As with a brooder,
your eyes and nose tell you when it needs a good cleaning.
Put
your face down at the chicken head height for three to five minutes. If your
eyes water due to high ammonia build up or you smell high ammonia levels, then
you need to clean up. Without question, clean your coops inside and out twice a
year, or any time t you take a new stock. However, I recommend period maintenance
between these cleaning these cleaning too.
To
rid the coop of mold, bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms, here is
how to do a thorough cleaning.
1.
Remove
Chicken and put them in a safe place, always better if you just finish selling
off your stock.
2.
Take
out the feeder and water to clean those piece of equipment.
3.
Remove
all beddings/sawdust or sand whichever one you have, completely remove them.
4.
Rid
the coop of cobwebs and dust and clean all surfaces with warm, soapy water and
let it dry overnight.
5.
Clean
the coop with disinfectant the next day and remember to follow the instructions
on the label. Washing it off at the appropriate amount of time
6.
Rinse
the coop clean, let it dry and then put everything back in including the new
chicks/chickens.
7.
If
you have nesting box, check and clean them also to prevent buildup of chicken
waste.
8.
Check
you coop always for sharp edges or broken point that could allow predators
inside the coop.
9.
Plan
lemon grass around your farm environment to prevent snakes infection.
10.
While
cleaning your coop, look out for used trashcans or feed bags that can house rats,
mice, etc.
11.
Clean
the feeder and waterer as needed
Maintaining
your coop properly prevents injury and diseases to your birds, if there is any,
the casualty would not go beyond control.
As
a rule of thumb always look out for signals, unusual conditions or activities
going on in the coop or around it.
Be
very observant..your five senses should always be at work.
Magic water for
Chicks
My
simple secret for DOC, when you first introduce them into your farm. It is
called the magic water. You can try it in your next batch, it helps to boost
the immune system of your chicks and also increases vitality.
1.
Get
a gallon of water (Warm water)
2.
A clove of garlic (grounded or grated fine)
3.
Half
a cup of Raw Honey (Very note of warning here, I mean original honey, if you
can get original honey or you are not sure of what you have, please, either
contact me for original honey, if you are in Nigeria, I sell it or don’t use
honey at all.)
4.
2
Tablespoons of Apple cider vinegar (I will teach you how to produce this next
time or get from a trusted store and be sure you read the label right.)
5.
Mix
all this together, allow for some few hour for the warm water to get to room
temperature, then introduce your new chicks to it.
This is a very good immune booster,
instead of using glucose D.
Thank you very much for reading..
Please, state in your comment, what you
would want to read on this blog as regards your chickens.