I always like to pamper these cheerful little creatures that do not skimp on us with anything and always search for the best for them. Here I am looking for the best way to take care of and clean their coop.
Unfortunately, the common cleaning options are bleach and other chemicals! What should I do as I do not feel comfortable using these substances and want to find a healthy and effective alternative?
Do not worry and give up your headache about this issue. We are here to take over the matter for you. We have conducted comprehensive research on cleaning chicken coops.
The researchers have shown the importance of cleaning and disinfecting the chicken coop at least once a year during the spring and before bringing a new flock, especially if the chicks are chicks. where the chicks are more susceptible to disease.
Researches also indicate the importance of choosing a healthy and safe type of detergent other than the widespread chemicals that may remain stuck in the barn and cause harm to the chickens later.
Let’s get acquainted with one of the very cheap natural alternatives that do not contain any harmful substances for chickens in the following lines.
How To Clean Chicken Coop With Vinegar?
Cleaning chicken coop with vinegar usually includes these 6 steps:
- Preliminary Cleaning.
- Using Water To Get Rid Of Leftover Waste.
- Using The Vinegar Solution.
- Doubling The Cleaning Power Of Vinegar.
- Wiping The Water.
- Putting Clean Bedding.
Before explaining these steps and diving into the details, first, you need to know why should you use vinegar and what are the best types to use for your chicken coop cleaning:
Benefits Of Vinegar In Cleaning
You may be surprised when you know that the bottle of vinegar sitting in your cupboard that you use only in cooking recipes, can be used as a wonderful cleaner and disinfectant! Yes, vinegar is the most powerful natural alternative for cleaning and sterilizing instead of using chemicals. Vinegar is made from acetic acid, which is a colorless organic compound and is an essential ingredient in many store-bought cleaners.
Acetic acid has strong acidic properties that give the vinegar its sour taste and somewhat pungent smell. The acidic nature of vinegar is so apparent and so strong that it can kill bacteria and dissolve mineral deposits, dirt, and grease.[1]
Vinegar can deodorize and disinfect just about anything and is often used in household cleaning recipes. There isn’t much that vinegar can’t clean and it’s a great cheap alternative to expensive and often toxic chemicals.
Best Vinegar For Coop Cleaning
There are different types of vinegar, including distilled white vinegar
Apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
The best type of vinegar for use in cleaning coops is white distilled vinegar because, in addition to that, it does not contain a coloring agent that stains the surfaces. This may not be of great importance when cleaning the chicken coop.
The important key here in cleaning coops is that distilled white vinegar has an acidity of approximately 5%, which is high and effective for cleaning and disinfecting coop hard deities. This acidity of distilled vinegar is similar to the acidity level of many manufacturers’ everyday cleaners, so don’t worry about the cleaning and leave it to the vinegar.
How To Prepare The Coop Cleaning Solution?
You can easily prepare a coop cleaning solution using equal amounts of vinegar and water. If the coop is very dirty, you can use twice as much vinegar as water.
Some people may be offended by the smell of vinegar, but there is no need for that. as it does not last for more than an hour. and after that, it does not have any effect. but anyway
If you want to get a pleasant smell instead of the smell of vinegar, you can mask the smell of vinegar by adding a few drops of essential oils such as lavender oil, lemon, or peppermint oil to the cleaning solution. you can increase the amount of oil as per your need.
You can also use apple cider vinegar, as it has almost the same cleaning properties as white vinegar. but it is darker in color and smells sweeter because it is made from fermenting apple juice.
Coop Cleaning Steps
Finally, here is a simple step-by-step guide to use vinegar for cleaning your chicken coop:
1. Preliminary Cleaning
Before you start using the vinegar solution for cleaning, you must take a preliminary step for the cleaning process to be highly efficient. You must remove all dirt, feathers, bird droppings, and nesting materials. Although it may take some time, getting rid of as many bird droppings as possible is very important as it is hard like cement, and will not soften easily with the help of a cleaning solution.
2. Use Water To Get Rid Of Leftover Waste
Use a water hose and spray the coop with water to remove all the dust and debris left over from the initial skimming. Spread the water well all over the coop. If there is a lot of debris in a certain area of the coop you can skim it again and then use the water.
3. Use The Vinegar Solution
Spread the vinegar solution over the entire barn and use a hand-cleaning brush or a broom with thick bristles to scrub the floors and walls thoroughly and remove any leftover residue or debris or stains. After making sure that the barn is cleaned and wiped with vinegar well, rinse it with clean water.
4. Doubling The Cleaning Power Of Vinegar
If there is tough dirt, you can use baking soda with vinegar to form a magic cleaning paste that will crush the toughest dirt. Baking soda is a natural cleaner that removes unpleasant odors and scrapes dirt.
When you combine baking soda with vinegar, you mix an acetic acid which contains acetic acid, and a baking soda base which contains sodium bicarbonate which results in salt water and carbon dioxide gas.
5. Wiping The Water
After completing the cleaning, scraping and rinsing the barn with clean water. wipe the coop well to get rid of any stagnant water. then open the windows and doors to dry in the air. The sun and air will help get rid of the lingering smell of vinegar and increase the efficiency of the disinfection process.
6. Putting Clean Bedding
After the coop is completely dry you can now lay down clean bedding material to keep the floors cushioned and warm for the chickens.
Choose a suitable bedding material for the floor, it must be well absorbent to keep the surface dry for chickens. Chicken manure consists of a large percentage of water, up to 85%. Add fresh herbs to the chicken nesting boxes and then welcome them to their new coop after cleaning.
