Best product to sanitize chicken run floor / de-worm?

[nmayhew]

hi,
my chooks have a 6m by 3m enclosure which i want to sanitize and try to de-worm if possible

i have seen this powder Nettex Nettex Ground Sanitising Powder 500g on Happy Chicks

but it looks as though i would need loads for my run

would i be better off spraying the whole floor with ***** solution with the chickens out the way for a few hours, and then sprinkling copper sulphate powder (the main ingredient of Nettex)??

if so, what powder exactly to buy, strength etc etc?

many thanks

Nick

[Suechooks]

If you're using ***** fluid you need to keep hens off for a long time not just a few hours.
Its difficult when you have a fixed run but I dig out the top few inches for the compost heap &/or mulching and have recently used the powder you mention as it seems to be safe to put the hens back straightaway. I then add a good fresh layer of wood chippings. In fact am about to do the hybrids run when I can gather the energy!
Best way of course it to rest the run for a few months. That way you can put lime on it but again that needs to keep the hens off for some time

[Aberdeenplotter]

I'm not a chook person but I do know that ***** Fluid contains a high concentration of phenol which can be detrimental to animals. That may not be a problem if it has a chance to dry out afterwards but as you say they are in an enclosure, and any hens I have been involved with have had soil under their feet, there may in fact be a possibility that it will not dry. That's my tuppence worth but undoubtedly some of the folks with poultry will be able to give you better advice.

[Aberdeenplotter]

or indeed may have done so whilst I was typing

[nmayhew]

thank you Sue
not reeeeally what i wanted to hear, but thanks nevertheless!
moving the run is not an option - it took me 2 weeks to build and is rather substantial - it is fox and badger proof

i will steer clear of ***** on ground don't worry; was just throwing the idea out there

i have scooped poop now it is cold and dry, but found wood chip a disaster once it rained - WWI trench comes to mind
maybe i need to change it more often??

because it is wired underneath, removing top soil is rather problematic

Nettex it is i guess

thank you both for your help

[RichmondHens]

For worming chickens use Flubenvet (powder mixed in with feed or you can buy ready medicated pellet from Marriages feeds).

Veterinary advice is that ***** is toxic to chickens. I certainly wouldn't put it in the run and return the chickens after only a few hours. Some people on here do use it but leave the ground unused for several weeks.

Have no idea of the efficacy of Nettex products I'm afraid. I would think if you only have the one run that your chickens have to use 24/7 year round (which is not ideal as I'm sure you are aware) then I would leave the ground alone and just worm the hens very regularly, say every 3 months. If you suspect a major infestation of worms (hunched up non laying chickens often with diarrhoea) then Flubenvet can be used once a month. I would also use the stronger version - 2.5% - rather than the 1% which seems to be marketed for the average chicken keeper these days. It's harder to get hold of and it's a big pot if you only have a few chickens but it does last a while.

I would strongly recommend for a fixed permanent run a deep layer of woodchip which can be raked over regularly and dug out and changed completely once a year. This combined with very regular worming should be enough.

[nmayhew]

Thanks Richmond
as i said my run is 6m by 3m, for 5 hens and one cock; they also free range for about 2 hours a day, all day if i am out in garden / v patch with them
whilst not perfect i think the conditions are better than many have...but i still want to try my best for them
thanks for the heads up about the 2.5% flubenvet - will have a scout round online unless anyone knows a good source already?

will also give the woodchip a whirl; ironic that replacing that every month will cost more than everything else combined i would have thought!

hey ho, must keep the little beaks happy

[RichmondHens]

In fact am about to do the hybrids run when I can gather the energy!

Dunno how cold it is with you Sue but I'm being a wuss and avoiding all bar the absolutely necessary outside jobs today. Apart from defrosting water buckets periodically I'm staying inside! Feeders are all topped up and I've turned the houses to face away from the weather. Might have to resort to housework!

[RichmondHens]

thanks for the heads up about the 2.5% flubenvet - will have a scout round online unless anyone knows a good source already?

will also give the woodchip a whirl; ironic that replacing that every month will cost more than everything else combined i would have thought!

hey ho, must keep the little beaks happy

I get my Flubenvet 2.5% on line. It's just a case of shopping around.

Woodchip only needs replacing once a YEAR not once a month Nick.

[nmayhew]

thanks

just got my flubenvet - the £32 for 240g 2.5% inc shipping - best i could find, but if that's way off...please don't tell me!

[Aberdeenplotter]

Hope you poultry experts don't object to a non chicken person throwing in a response to this thread. I do know that ***** can be evil stuff and just wanted the poster to delay using the stuff till one of you guys was in a position to respond.

[nmayhew]

don't worry, wasn't going to do anything silly!

although i do use it to disinfect their coop from time to time; it is allowed to dry fully before they're let back near / in it...

[jessmorris]

[QUOTE=RichmondHens;942077]Dunno how cold it is with you Sue but I'm being a wuss and avoiding all bar the absolutely necessary outside jobs today. Apart from defrosting water buckets periodically I'm staying inside! Feeders are all topped up and I've turned the houses to face away from the weather. Might have to resort to housework!

..things can't be that bad surely RH??!

[Hilary B]

It's a while since I had chooks, but if I was going to keep any now, it would have to be a fixed run plus as much free-ranging time as was feasible (simple lack of space), and the fixed run would have a solid base (concrete, or at least slabs) so that it could be thoroughly cleaned out.
If woodchip is getting soggy, you may need to improvr drainage, an particular making sure that rain falling nearby cannot get into the area. The rain that falls on the run is likely to be less of a problem than run-off from the rest of the garden. A trench around the outside, with access for any water that collects there to run away completely, would be ideal, You can fill in with stones or gravel, because they won't stop water getting away.

[Suechooks]

Dunno how cold it is with you Sue but I'm being a wuss and avoiding all bar the absolutely necessary outside jobs today. Apart from defrosting water buckets periodically I'm staying inside! Feeders are all topped up and I've turned the houses to face away from the weather. Might have to resort to housework!

Twas minus 6 this morning when I went to open up ! Am keeping some water in the greenhouse overnight and transporting some each morning from home. Bit of a bind but has to be done!
I "chickened" out of doing the run this morning but housework was not the alternative!