Clean Human feet before entering the coop/pen. Is there a natural way?

[SignoraBel]

Hi all,

I was just reading some articles that suggested as a preventative to have a foot tray to step on to disinfect shoes before entering and at exiting the coop, particularly for visitors. However all I see as suggestions on line are chemicals like Oxine. Anyone has a more natural way to do this? Oh...as a side question....I have been reading also about using a mix with bleach for this and disinfecting waterers etc... But I am not crazy about disposing of the bleach and I am pretty sure it could damage some folk's shoes...alternatives?

 

[Odelia]

It is just an idea, but what about vinegar? It is all natural and does have disinfecting properties. I don't know how it will affect your guests shoes.

 

[Eve-Lee]

I picked up chicks at Ideal today. At the office. They had a can of Lysol to spray your shoes with if you went to the back where chicks are. Just regular Lysol.

 

[SignoraBel]

That might work. I am working my set up and want to stay ahead of issues since one of my kids gets sick easily. Ty guys.

 

[Sonya9]

We used bleach years ago to protect small puppies from parvo (no one could enter the house/yard without bleaching their shoes or removing them).

Thing about bleach is you have to keep it fresh, if it sits out for hours in the pan and loses the "bleach odor" it is no longer effective. I suppose it could damage some shoes but don't recall that being a problem.

Honestly for healthy birds I wouldn't worry about it that much, if you have visitors that are coming from areas with OTHER chickens that could carry disease then maybe use bleach.

I would not use vinegar, it doesn't kill that many germs it just makes people "feel" like they are killing them (though vinegar and hydrogen peroxide applied together is one of the best non-toxic disinfectants available BUT it is not practical for shoes unless you spray one and then the other, it would probably stain or cause problems).

Are you planning to sell chickens and have a ton of strangers/visitors walking through the coops?

 

[Odelia]

I picked up chicks at Ideal today. At the office. They had a can of Lysol to spray your shoes with if you went to the back where chicks are. Just regular Lysol.

That sounds like the easiest answer to me. If it works for a hatchery that has people visiting all the time is should work for a backyard setup.

 

[SignoraBel]

No, just for our own use. I wondered about bleach but the lysol does sound easy. Ty guys.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

I wouldn't use Lysol personally. It bothers my lungs so much... I can't imagine it would be good for chicken lungs. Honestly I wouldn't use a thing. Or maybe just get some of those plastic shoe covers that doctors use and skip the chemicals....

 

[taylor87]

For our coop, we haven't got the birds yet but I'm planning on having a boot tray by the door in the entrance which is kind of like a "mud room" and having a change of boots to wear into the coop, you could get a few extra pairs and disinfect them and those would be the only boots that go into the coop for chores or visiting

 

[SignoraBel]

Great suggestion. Thank you!