Mia Patel
Keeping chicken nesting boxes clean is important for maintaining the health of your chickens and ensuring clean eggs. Hens can get infections from dirty nesting boxes, and dirty eggs may need to be washed, which removes the protective coating that keeps bacteria out and decreases their shelf life. Chicken keepers recommend cleaning nesting boxes at least once a week or every few days when the chickens are not laying. Some people deep clean their chicken coops 2-3 times a year, while others clean their nesting boxes once a year if their chickens are not sleeping in them.
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What You'll Learn
Hens should not sleep in nesting boxes
To prevent hens from sleeping in the nesting boxes, it is important to ensure that they have access to comfortable and appealing roosting areas. Here are some tips to achieve this:
- Evaluate the Roosting Habits: Observe your chickens and try to identify any factors that might be discouraging them from using the designated roosting areas. For example, bullying within the flock or an infestation of mites can make hens feel unsafe on the communal perches. Addressing these issues can help encourage hens to use the designated roosting areas instead of the nesting boxes.
- Modify the Nesting Boxes: Make some adjustments to the nesting boxes to make them less appealing for sleeping. For instance, you can design the boxes with a sloped roof to prevent chickens from comfortably perching on top. Another option is to block access to the nesting boxes in the late afternoon and evening, encouraging hens to seek out the perches for their nighttime routine. You can use wire fencing or curtains to temporarily block the openings.
- Reconsider Placement and Height: Ensure that your perches are positioned higher than the nesting boxes, as chickens have an innate instinct to seek higher ground for sleeping, as it offers a sense of security. Additionally, provide multiple perches at varying heights to accommodate different breeds and comfort levels.
- Provide Ample Spacing: Overcrowded perches can lead to squabbles and discomfort, discouraging some hens from using them. Allocate approximately 30 cm of perch space per hen to prevent overcrowding and promote a hygienic environment.
- Maintain Cleanliness: Chickens prefer a clean roosting environment. Regularly clean the perches and nesting boxes to remove any buildup of droppings, which can make the perches less appealing and encourage hens to seek alternative sleeping spots.
By implementing these measures, you can help ensure that your hens do not sleep in the nesting boxes and maintain a healthy and hygienic environment for your flock.
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Clean nesting boxes weekly
Keeping chicken nesting boxes clean is important to avoid issues such as bugs, mould, and illness. While there are different approaches to cleaning nesting boxes, a common practice is to clean them weekly. Here are some detailed steps and tips for cleaning chicken nesting boxes on a weekly basis:
Weekly Maintenance
- Tidy the nesting boxes daily: As part of your daily routine, tidy the nesting boxes by removing any feathers or droppings that you may find. This helps maintain a certain level of cleanliness throughout the week.
- Clean out soiled bedding: Once a week, remove all the soiled bedding and add it to your compost pile. You can also purchase products like Coop to Garden to help accelerate the breakdown of chicken litter in your compost.
- Scrape out any remaining droppings: After removing the bedding, scrape out any remaining droppings or debris from the nesting boxes.
- Add new bedding: Refill the nesting boxes with fresh bedding. You can use kiln-dried pine shavings, which are easy to clean and less prone to pest infestations than straw.
- Use coop recuperate: Sprinkle Coop Recuperate or a similar product onto the new bedding. This helps keep the bedding dry and fresh and protects the chickens from flies and other insects.
Deep Cleaning
In addition to the weekly maintenance described above, it's important to deep clean the nesting boxes periodically. This typically involves taking the boxes out of the coop and cleaning them with hot, soapy water. You can scrub and rinse the boxes to ensure they are thoroughly sanitised. The frequency of deep cleaning can vary, but some sources recommend doing it 2-3 times a year.
Additional Tips
- Prevent chickens from sleeping in the nesting boxes: Allowing chickens to sleep in the nesting boxes can increase the frequency of cleaning required. It's recommended to move chickens to a roost at night and reinforce this behaviour consistently.
- Provide enough nesting boxes: Ensure you have enough nesting boxes for your flock. The general recommendation is one nesting box for every four to six hens.
- Maintain a comfortable environment: Chickens prefer a darker and quieter nesting area. Providing curtains can make the area feel cozier for them, but be aware that curtains will need to be cleaned from time to time as they collect dust.
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Use kiln-dried pine shavings for easy cleaning
Keeping chicken nesting boxes clean is important to avoid issues like bugs, mould, and illnesses. While there are various ways to keep the boxes clean, using kiln-dried pine shavings is a great option for easy cleaning.
Firstly, kiln-dried pine shavings are dry and absorbent. Chicken droppings are very moist, and if the bedding is not absorbent, it will quickly turn into a smelly, slimy mess. Kiln-dried pine shavings help to manage this issue, as they are better at absorbing moisture than straw, although not as effective as sand. The more absorbent the bedding, the less frequently it will need to be changed, making cleaning easier.
Secondly, kiln-dried pine shavings are safer and healthier than other options. The kiln-drying process eliminates aromatic oils, dust, and wood debris, which can cause respiratory issues for chickens. The dust is not released when the shavings are poured out of the bag, and the strong pine scent is reduced, making it less likely to irritate the chickens' sensitive respiratory systems.
Thirdly, kiln-dried pine shavings are cost-effective and convenient. They are often half the price of paper alternatives and can be purchased at local feed stores or online. They come in large vacuum-sealed bales, making them a good value option that is easily accessible.
However, it is worth noting that some chickens may still experience respiratory issues due to the scent of kiln-dried pine shavings, and some chickens may eat the shavings, which could be harmful. Therefore, it is important to monitor the chickens' behaviour and health when introducing any new bedding material. Additionally, while kiln-dried pine shavings make cleaning easier, regular maintenance and deep cleaning of the nesting boxes are still necessary to ensure a clean and healthy environment for the chickens.
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Hens should not have worms
Keeping chicken nesting boxes clean is important for the health of your flock. While chickens will always be messy, a clean coop will help to avoid bugs, mould, and illness. Generally, nesting boxes should be tidied daily and deep cleaned 2-3 times a year.
To prevent worms in your hens, you can take several measures. Firstly, ensure your chickens are not pecking at their poop. Install a structure underneath roosts that allow droppings to fall through wooden slats or wire mesh, or use a droppings board that can be cleared each morning. Regularly rotate your yard or pen to prevent chickens from pecking in the same area, or use a mobile coop that can be moved periodically. You can also use natural supplements to help break down intestinal worms and their eggs, making them more susceptible to attack by the bird's immune system, stomach acids, and gut bacteria. Additionally, you can implement an annual or bi-annual dose of a drug de-wormer, although this may affect beneficial microbes and good gut flora in the chicken's intestines and require a withdrawal period before consuming meat or eggs from treated chickens.
By taking these preventative measures, you can help keep your hens healthy and worm-free.
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Clean eggs can be harvested by keeping the protective bloom intact
When eggs are washed, the bloom is removed, decreasing their shelf life. Therefore, it is important to harvest clean eggs to keep the bloom intact. This can be done by ensuring that your hens don't have worms, as their eggs may come out dirty. You can worm your hens by mixing 1 tablespoon of DE per hen into their feed for a couple of weeks. Additionally, providing enough nesting boxes for your hens can help keep the eggs clean. It is recommended to have one nesting box per four laying hens, with each box being at least a 12"x 12" square with a top, bottom, and two sides. A lip on the front of the box can also help prevent eggs from rolling out.
It is also important to keep the nesting boxes clean. Tidying the boxes daily and removing any feathers or droppings can help ensure that the eggs stay clean. Using kiln-dried pine shavings in the nesting boxes can make cleaning easier, as they are less prone to pests like poultry mites than straw. You can also use products like Coop Recuperate to keep the bedding dry and fresh and protect the chickens from flies and other bugs. For weekly maintenance, soiled bedding can be cleaned out and added to a compost pile, and new bedding can be added. Deep cleaning of the boxes can be done every week or every other week, depending on how messy they are, using hot soapy water to scrub and rinse them.
If eggs do need to be washed, it is important to do so carefully to avoid removing the bloom. Dipping the eggs in a chlorine-based sanitizer for at least 1 minute but no more than 3 minutes, and then setting them on a clean towel to air dry, can help sanitize the eggs without removing the bloom. Rubbing the eggs dry can rub off the bloom, so it is important to let them air dry. Keeping the bloom intact allows unwashed eggs to be stored at room temperature for up to a month, while washed eggs with the bloom removed need to be refrigerated.
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Frequently asked questions
It is recommended to tidy the nesting boxes daily and clean them out weekly or bi-weekly. A deep clean can be done 2-3 times a year.
It is best practice to not let chickens sleep in their nesting boxes as they tend to get infections from dirty boxes. If you find a chicken sleeping in the nesting box, place it on the roost at dusk.
Coop Recuperate is a popular product that keeps bedding dry and fresh and protects chickens from flies and bugs. Coop to Garden is another recommended product that is an organic compost accelerator.
Kiln-dried pine shavings are recommended as they are easy to clean and do not harbour pests like poultry mites.
