Is your coop really Dusty???? Why???

[sandy sea]

I clean up the poop in the chicken coop every week, add new shavings when needed. One question, why soo much dust? Is it from the shavings or poop or what? It covers eveything windows, walls, floors, and eveything else. I seem to be dusting alot. I have to take out all mysupplies and trash cans which hold my feed and stuff and clean. What is it from?????? My coop is sectioned of into two areas with wire, Chickens in one and feed and supplies in the other. Is your coop dusty?

 

[Ravishaw]

My guess would be that chickens enjoy dust baths, they ruffle feathers which spreads maybe 1/5 of your dust... Another 5th comes from good old regular air, and the rest from wind, settling of the building and other things?


I'm over in AZ, and dust is a way of life.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Yep chickens are dusty animals! I'm going to get a duster just for the coop and an old broom for the cobwebs and walls. Might wanna try that, and dust once a week or more. You could put nails in the walls up high and hang the broom an duster off these. Just an idea... Cause I like it clean too

 

[chicmom]

The dust is incredible, isn't it?! I think it's from the wood shavings, and maybe come chicken dander too........ARG!

 

[Hillsvale]

When I dump my 25 kg bag of feed into my auto feeder... there is a pile of dust from that! Combine with shavings and you have a mess.

 

[patandchickens]

CHickens themselves produce considerable dust (dander). This is especially bad when they are molting (and if yours are less than 18 wks old, they are more or less constantly molting

), from the cuticle that sheathes the pinfeathers as they emerge and then flakes off.

Also, many brands/lots of shavings are rather dusty, and if your chickens spill ANY feed on the floor, it gets ground into a fine powder that also can be a large fraction of the dust.

Chicnken coops just ARE dusty, it is an unavoidable fact of life. I would suggest having as few exposed storage containers/objects/surfaces as possible, and lots and lots of ventilation.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[CityChook]

I did a Spring Clean on my coop a couple of weekends ago. After 5-6 LONG, COLD Minnesota months with those chickens living pretty much 24/7 inside, it was a wreck. I used to just open all the doors/windows and sweep down the rafters and the walls before washing, but Joebryant gave me a great idea and it worked like a charm: hit that bad boy with the leaf blower. Seriously, the quantities of dust evicted from my chicken coop were epic. And that was after I had already swept down the rafters and the walls -- pretty incredible.

 

[elmo]

Just try keeping a flock of cockatiels or cockatoos in your house! Then you'll see dust....

 

[silkiechicken]

Lots of dust from the litter thrown up in scratching, and lots of dust from the birds themselves. Feather dust is fine stuff and will float everywhere. Sometimes I wonder how my two half ounce parakeets can make so much dust everywhere inside when they are so tiny... and I wonder how they can drop off so many feathers and not be naked.

Chickens are just bigger so the dust is worse.

 

[kipoley]

LOVE the leaf blower idea. I couldn't wait to get the chicks out of my house.
~K