Official BYC Poll: Do You Wear a Mask or Respirator When Cleaning Your Coop?

[ViggoRoo]

I never wear a mask but to be honest, I only have one rooster and 4 hens. Three of the hens I call the flying Wallendas because they are semi-feral and roost in the trees in front of Viggo and Goldie's safe house. I let the rooster and hen out in the morning and lock them in at night (they put themselves away, wish the Wallendas would follow them into the shelter but they prefer the trees). I have shavings and hay on the ground and I put above ground "wedding cake pool stairs" inside (has a large opening in the back) the shelter for them and they love it! Life is good

 

[elusvbtrfly]

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We all know how much dust those birds can create, so I'm just wondering who wears some kind of respiratory protection when they are in and around the coop - and when!

Have you had any issues from not wearing a mask?

Please vote and leave a comment below!

I do for the 6mo deep clean when I pull everything out to get what gets away in the regular cleaning. It's old and really dusty. For the regular cleaning I have a poop board with sand and a little diatomaceous earth that I use a kitty litter scoop to clean every day or two. I do wear a mask when I need to change out the sand.

 

[HewsQuailEggs]

I have thought of doing it before, although I've never put that thought into action, but I do keep the area as open as possible.

 

[AGeese]

If I don't I'll pay the price later. That said often times I don't, but end up regretting it after I can't stop sneezing. If I'm going to be doing anything like a clean out yes. Otherwise no.

 

[EquiAsh95]

Honestly I never wear a mask. But I am also a nurse and get exposed to a lot of stuff so I am much more lenient about this type of stuff. Nothing really scares me haha. Probably bad advice. But I don’t feel a mask is necessary

 

[Shiner19]

I don't wear anything, though I probably should. Depending on the cleaning (deep litter, monthly summer clean, dusting, etc.), I sometimes have to step out for fresh air. Spring cleanout is usually pretty rough. Adding shavings can be rough too, as it sometimes has a lot of dust.

I initially never did but whenever I deep clean and spread out new shavings the dust was getting to me so now I wear just a regular face mask when I deep clean only.