How to Deep Clean Your Chicken Coop – A Dirty Job

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When it comes to keeping your beloved chickens healthy, happy, safe, and their coop smelling fresh, one of the most important tasks you can take on is regularly cleaning their coop. How often should you deep your chicken coop?

Chicken coops should be maintained weekly by refreshing their bedding materials and scraping roosting bars as needed.    It is good practice to clean waterers and feeders weekly with a 50/50 water and vinegar solution.  

The perfect time to deep clean your chicken coop clean is in the spring and late fall. This may need to be done more often if you have a lot of hens. Particularly, if you live in a more urban area with neighbors nearby, then whenever the coop starts smelling is a good indication for cleaning.

Let’s look at how to prepare your chicken coop for deep cleaning and what tips can help keep your chickens healthy and content throughout the year.

Keeping their feed, scratch, and water in the run is a good idea. I never feed or water the chickens in the coop. It makes too much of a mess in the coop and attracts rodents and flies. I recommend that you keep all feed and scratch-in metal garbage cans out in the run if you have the space for it.

I used to keep the feed outside of the run, but then our resident moose and her calf discovered the feed. She would knock over the covered garbage can and kick at it until the lid came off and enjoyed as much feed as she wanted!!

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During summer, I scrape poop from the roosts and replace wood shavings every 30-45 days. I add food-grade DE to the coop floor and nesting boxes to help keep mites and lice at bay.

List of supplies needed to deep clean chicken coop:

• Rubber glove
• Mask – especially if you have any respiratory issues or you are working inside an enclosed coop
• Rake
• Shovel
• Brush – stiff cleaning style
• Scraper
• Bucket
• Small tarp
• Homemade Chicken Coop Cleaner – see recipe below
• Diatomaceous Earth and DE Duster www.Amazon.com

I usually start early on a good weather day and shoo my chickens out of the coop and into the run. This gives everything time to dry after cleaning before reassembling the coop.

I do not allow our hens free range up here in the country for a few reasons.   The hens in the past have destroyed my garden and flower beds. We also lost a few to predators, such as night owls, raccoons, and skunks. One time during the middle of the day, a raven decided to kill seven of my eight baby chicks, which was too heartbreaking for me to go through again.   The last surviving chick we chose to name Katniss from the movie “The Hunger Games,” and the name fits her personality perfectly. For the chickens’ sake and mine, they now live in our ” Fort Knox” chicken coop and run. So secure that no one gets in or out without my supervision!

Now let the fun begin. I always start by cleaning the coop from top to bottom and then the run.

Steps to Deep Clean the Coop and Run

Step 1.

I start by locking the ladies out of the coop. Place a tarp down outside the coop; then, it is time to clean out the old bedding. Drag all the old bedding onto the tarp using the rake and shovel. Later I take all the old bedding and put it into the compost pile.

Step 2.

Now is an excellent time to check for signs of mites. You will notice tiny black or blood spots. If there are signs of mites, you should inspect your chickens and treat them if needed.

Step 3.

Next, with gloves on, I scrape any poop from the roost bars and out of the nooks and crannies with the scraper. Then remove the floor barrier and replace or clean it.

In the fall, I usually staple a barrier down over my plywood coop floor, such as Tyvek or tarp. I do this in the fall because of the length between cleanings and wet weather. Others have put down remnant vinyl flooring, which also works great. Having a barrier down over the plywood floor makes cleaning much more manageable. After the coop is clean, I usually replace the old Tyvek or tarp with a new one.

Step 4.

I then use my homemade chicken coop cleaner and a stiff brush to scrub the coop well. Please don’t use bleach, ammonia, or any other harsh chemicals to clean your coop; they are unhealthy for your chickens.

Use your bucket and fresh water to rinse everything out. I recommend using a hose only if the weather is warm, and you can ensure that everything dries out before putting new bedding back in the coop.

Step 5.

While everything is drying, check for holes or cracks in the coop. Now is a great time to make these repairs to keep mice and other predators out.

Step 6.

Once all is dry, now is the time to put down a new or cleaned floor barrier such as Tyvek or remnant linoleum. This step is optional but does make cleaning easier. I usually do this in the fall for the long winter ahead.

Step 7.

Sprinkle FOOD-grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) on the coop floor, especially in the nooks, crannies, roosts, and nesting boxes. Be sure to avoid breathing in the dust by wearing a mask if you are working on a windy day or are inside the chicken coop. To learn more, read my article about Diatomaceous Earth (DE).  It is essential to use only food-grade DE, not pool-grade.  The Diatomaceous Earth causes pests to dry out, shrivel, and die.

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Step 8.

Finally, replace the bedding on the floor and the nesting boxes with a fresh layer of straw or wood shavings. I usually add a 4-6 inches layer to make in-between cleaning easy.

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Step 9.

Now you can remove the coop entrance barrier and let the ladies back in!! 

Step 10.

Take the time to rake and shovel out the run. I put all the muck and old straw into the compost pile. Be sure to scrape down any outdoor roost bars. Give their water bowls a deep clean with a brush and the homemade chicken coop cleaner.

At this time, I also check for and repair broken barrier wires and other holes where predators could break in through the run.

Finally, if you get a lot of spring and fall rain and the ground will be wet and muddy, I recommend adding a nice layer of straw or wood shavings to the run floor.

Now it is time to stand back and admire your hard work!! Life is better with chickens, and they will be happy after you deep-clean their chicken coop!

Homemade Chicken Coop Cleaner:

• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar (Don’t use apple cider vinegar-it will attract flies & ants)
• 20 drops of lemongrass essential oil which is a parasite repellant
• 20 drops of lavender or peppermint essential oil to help remove odors

Life is better with chickens!!

Do you have any additional tips on how to clean your chicken coop – let me know!

Yvonne