My rooster taught me I was overcleaning the coop

I spent months scrubbing every last bit of poop out of my coop every weekend until my neighbor with 20 years experience told me to stop. She said the beneficial bacteria in the deep litter method actually helps keep ammonia down and my girls have been way healthier since I switched to just turning the bedding every few days. Anybody else find they went overboard with cleaning when they first started?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy_miller1mo ago

My friend did the same thing. Scrubbed until her chickens got sick.

lee.casey1mo ago

Come on now, @nancy_miller, you have to look at it from the other side. Scrubbing your eggs means you're spending time actually cleaning them which is way more sanitary than leaving on all that dirt and possible bacteria. Letting them sit dirty is basically asking for salmonella to set up shop on your counter. Your friend's chickens probably got sick from something else entirely, like a bad batch of feed or not enough fresh water. Keeping things clean is never the problem, it's how you do it and what else is going on. If you scrub with lukewarm water and dry them fast, there's zero risk to the eggs or the birds.