Cleaning Out Chickens: A Practical UK Guide

Keeping your chickens healthy starts with good hygiene. There are two regular cleaning jobs every chicken keeper needs to stay on top of: cleaning the chicken coop and cleaning the chicken run. How often you clean depends on your setup — the size of your run, how “free range” your hens are, and how quickly droppings build up — but a clean environment is essential for preventing disease and keeping your flock comfortable.

How to Clean a Chicken Coop (Weekly Clean)

For most keepers, cleaning out the chicken coop is a weekly job. In warm weather or during winter when hens spend more time indoors, you may need a quick mid‑week tidy. If you notice even a hint of ammonia smell, the coop is overdue for a clean.

Ammonia comes from stale droppings and can irritate your chickens’ delicate respiratory systems. Because hens do most of their droppings overnight, a dirty coop can quickly become unhealthy. The good news is that with a simple routine and the right tools, a weekly clean doesn’t take long.

Equipment You’ll Need

You don’t need to spend a fortune on cleaning equipment, in fact many people already have these things in their garden shed and they don’t have to be exact. For example, I use a plasterer’s finishing trowel as a scraper.

Here’s my list of equipment you will need:

Large bucket
Small shovel
Scraper (a paint scraper works well)
Stiff brush
Heavy‑duty rubber gloves

Weekly Chicken Coop Cleaning Guide

Remove perches and the droppings board. Scoop all bedding into your bucket. Don’t forget the nest boxes — clean nest boxes mean cleaner eggs. You can reuse unsoiled nest‑box material on the coop floor.
Scrape off dried droppings. Use your scraper on the droppings board, perches and any stubborn patches inside the coop.
Brush out debris. Feather dander is normal, but piles of grey ash‑like dust can indicate red mite. If you spot this, skip ahead to the Spring‑Cleaning section.
Dry and disinfect. Poultry disinfectant* kills bacteria. On dry days, leave the coop open for a couple of hours to air out.
Sanitising Powder such as Netex Ground Sanitising Powder* can be used to dry out the coop floor and make the environment inhospitable for worm eggs, mites and other nastys.
Add fresh bedding. Replace the droppings board and perches, then add clean bedding and nesting material. Finally, a sprinkle of diatomaceous earth or mite powder around the nest boxes and perch ends can help deter red mite — but only works on direct contact.

How Often to Clean a Chicken Run

If your hens spend time in a static chicken run, it can quickly become a breeding ground for worms and bacteria. Regular cleaning helps prevent disease and keeps smells under control. The smaller the run, the more often you’ll need to poop‑pick.

Cleaning a Chicken Run

A clean chicken run is just as important as a clean coop for keeping your flock healthy.

In dry weather, droppings can be raked up easily.
Use a good substrate such as hardwood chips, sand or rubber chips to reduce mud and make cleaning easier.
Apply poultry disinfectant or ground sanitiser regularly to destroy worm eggs before hens ingest them.
Refresh or replace the substrate as needed. When you do, sanitise the ground beneath — or hose down concrete surfaces and disinfect.

Spring‑Cleaning (Deep Clean)

A deep clean is essential at least once or twice a year — typically in spring and autumn — and any time you suspect red mite or other parasites.

How to Deep Clean a Chicken Coop

Choose a warm, dry day so everything can dry thoroughly.

Take the coop apart as much as possible.
Remove all bedding and scrape up droppings.
Wash the coop out with a hosepipe.
Wash all surfaces with poultry disinfectant* (ensure this is safe for use around chickens).
Use a sprayer to get into cracks and crevices where red mite hide.
Leave everything to dry in the sunshine — UV light helps kill pathogens.
Reassemble the coop and add fresh bedding.

Choosing Chicken Bedding

Good bedding absorbs moisture, insulates the coop and reduces smells. Here’s a quick guide:

Recommended Bedding

Good bedding does far more than make the coop look tidy — it plays a key role in keeping your chickens healthy. A suitable bedding material absorbs moisture, insulates the floor of the coop, and helps reduce the build‑up of ammonia, which can irritate your hens’ sensitive respiratory systems. It also helps control smells, keeps the coop drier for longer, and makes your weekly clean‑out much easier.

There are several types of bedding available* to chicken keepers, but some perform far better than others in terms of absorbency, dust levels and overall hygiene.

Here’s a quick guide to the most reliable options:

Dust‑extracted wood shavings – absorbent, insulating and economical; a popular all‑round choice for most coops.
Shredded hemp – highly absorbent, dust‑free and naturally repels flies; excellent for reducing smells and moisture.
Easichick – a purpose‑made wood product that’s dust‑free, absorbent and composts down easily after use.
Shredded cardboard – absorbent, dust‑free and compostable; a good option if you want something lightweight and eco‑friendly.

Avoid

Hay or shredded bark (this can contain harmful spores)
Sawdust (it is too dusty, irritates eyes and lungs)
Shredded paper (very poor absorption, messy in wind)
Straw (except in nest boxes, it’s dusty, not very absorbent unless chopped and dust‑extracted)

Next Steps

Keeping your chickens’ living space clean is one of the simplest ways to keep your flock healthy, reduce disease risks and make daily care easier. Once you’ve established a routine for cleaning the chicken coop and maintaining a fresh, hygienic chicken run, everything else becomes far more manageable. With the basics in place, you can now start refining other parts of your chicken‑keeping setup — from feeding and grit to parasite prevention. If you’re ready to build on what you’ve learned here, the guides below will help you take the next steps with confidence.