Cleaning the Chicken Coops and Installing New Nesting Boxes

May 26, 2017

Cleaning the Chicken Coops and Installing New Nesting Boxes

As many of you know, I’ve long enjoyed the pastime of raising chickens. I began raising chickens primarily for their delicious, fresh eggs, but over the years, I’ve also grown fond of caring for them, and learning about their many different breeds and varieties.

At my Bedford, New York farm, I currently have four coops that house more than one-hundred chickens in all. From the moment they arrive, I make sure they are housed properly, fed all the best, most nutritious foods, and have enough room to roam and range happily. Their coops are given a thorough cleaning once a week - fresh bedding, clean nests, etc. And recently, my outdoor grounds crew replaced all the nesting boxes with new ones from Hog Slat Inc., power washed every coop and installed new protective netting over the entire chicken yard.

Here are some photos - enjoy.

: My four chicken coops are located near the vegetable garden past my stable, peacock yard and tropical hoop house. Visitors love stopping in to see all the different varieties of chickens I keep.

: After more than several years, it was time to change all the nesting boxes. This is one of the old ones. Although the metal structure is still intact, the wooden perches are worn and ready to be changed.

: Each coop has four sets of nesting boxes each containing 10-nesting compartments. They were all stripped from the walls, and all the wooden shavings swept off the floor.

: Dawa oversees the care of all the chickens, peacocks, geese, and pigeons. Here he is using the backpack leaf blower to get debris that has flown into the rafters, and tight corners.

: Here is the coop after it is swept and blown clean.

: The wooden floor is also completely free of debris and shavings.

: The next step is to power wash the entire interior. Dawa washes the coop down from top to bottom.

: Meanwhile, it’s time to assemble the new hen nesting boxes. I like these metal models because they are durable, easy to clean and resist mite infestation better than wooden ones. I purchased 16 nesting box units from Hog Slat in Newton Grove, North Carolina. These units are part of their FARMSTEAD equipment line and are very durable.

: Each nesting unit comes unassembled. Pete takes all the pieces out and organizes them on the workbench.

: These nesting structures are constructed from durable galvanized steel with a bolt together design that’s extremely strong and easy to put together.

: Pete looks over the manual to ensure all the parts are included, and reviews the assembly process.

: The side walls are assembled first. Each unit is a foot deep, giving each hen ample room to move in the nest.

: Here is one wall. It is fitted with many air holes that provide good air circulation to keep hens cooler and more comfortable.

: All the uprights are now bolted together.

: This is the back of the unit – a long shallow wall keeps each hen more secure in their nesting enclosure.

: Pete uses more bolts to attach the back panels.

: These perches are strong and can be folded out of the way for easy cleaning.

: Each unit has two rows – five nesting boxes and a long perch for each one.

: Back inside the coop, Pete and Dawa secure the new nesting boxes to the walls.

: They are screwed very tightly to the coop wall studs.

: All the perches were painted my signature Bedford Gray to match all the structures on the farm.

: Each box is 12-inches wide by 13-inches tall – perfect for each hen to nest comfortably.

: Dawa fills each box with fresh wood shavings.

: I love knowing my hens are provided with clean, comfortable nests. Rolled metal edges prevent injury to the birds and easy to remove metal bottoms make it simple to keep the nests clean.

: The coop is filled with fresh bedding.

: Dawa rakes all the bedding evenly across the coop floor. It’s very important to keep their environments as clean and as dry as possible.

: Here is a wall of nesting boxes ready for the hens. Each coop has 40-boxes.

: Dawa fills the indoor feeders that are suspended from the ceiling beams. Each feeder holds about 30-pounds of an organic layer feed. This pelleted food is designed to provide hens with the necessary nutrients, such as protein and calcium, to aid chickens in laying good, healthy eggs. He also refreshes all the waterers. Food and water are checked several times a day and refreshed every morning.

: The entire chicken yard is also covered in protective netting, so the chickens, Guinea hens, turkeys, and Pomeranian guard geese are safe from predators.

: I also requested that the netting be replaced, so everything looks fresh. This industrial netting is waterproof, rot-resistant and UV-resistant.