My eco solution to rat problems

[Lesley R]

Hello Peeps

Any tips out there on how to clean the wooden racks?

The plastic droppings tray is easy but my racks are getting a bit manky!

Regards

Lesley

[Martin B]

Take the tray out and s"Ooops, word censored!"e all poo etc into compost bin without washing it clean. Put the plastic tray in the elgu again and then get a hose on the fastes setting and power blast the roosting bars and the poo comes off with ease. Then take the tray out and the water drains into the ground and then dry the tray in the sun. All is done.

 

Well that is how I do it.

[Tina C]

I s"Ooops, word censored!"e them, then use plain water and a washing up brush to scrub them. Then I leave them out to dry in the sun (?)

 

I bought a spare set of bars - it always seems to be raining when I clean out the eglu.

[Martin B]

It would be a wise decision to purchase a spare set of roosting bars, it must be so much easier to leave them in the rain!

[Gallina]

I would also strongly recommend a spare set of roosting bars. I no longer dread washing them. I used to worry that I wouldn't get them dry and back in quickly enough if one of my hens wanted to lay an egg; or that I would forget to put them back by bedtime.

 

I just leave the washed set in the window of my shed to dry and forget about them until I next need them. It makes life so much easier.

 

We are in the Thames Water area and still under a hosepipe ban, so I keep the hose out of temptation. I scrub the bars with my old scourers and then throw them away. I try not to make the bars too wet, as I suspect they will last longer that way.

[red]

I stole Hubby's special brush for cleaning the spokes of his alloy car wheels! It's brilliant for cleaning the roosting bars - you can scrub in between all the bars and it didn't cost very much either (he's had to buy himself another one now) You can get them from Halfords etc. They're very robust and also great for cleaning my teak garden furniture

 

When I get the kitchen re-done I am going to save my big butler sink and install it in the garden because it's an extra big one - I can get my big barbeque grill in it and so I reckon it will make cleaning the roosting bars easier too.

 

I can't believe it hasn't occurred to me to get a spare set because that whole drying thing is such a hassle. Trouble is, do I get a spare set for my markI or just wait for the MarkIII ?? Decisions, Decisions ...

[Martin B]

Hi Gallina - Somebody posted a while ago that they were also in a hosepipe ban area, but they contacted the local council and were allowed to use the hosepipe because of Agriculture, Livestock and Hygeine something or other.

[The Dogmother]

I scrub mine in Ecover washing up liquid and a drop or two of tea tree oil .use an old washing up brush and they come up dandy.

 

I recently decide to give the spare set a power clean before rubberising them - I washed them, then put them in Phil's dishwasher - brilliant - they look like new. Now just got to get round to painting them

[chelsea]

I also take mine out - plaster them in Ecover and give them a scrub with a hard brush and then blast them off with the hose - not had any problems.

 

Just invested in a spare set of bars so when the ones are drying I can put the fresh ones in and rotate them, at just over £6 for a new set - its a bargain.

[feemcg]

Once a week I s"Ooops, word censored!"e the poo off them (with a wallpaper s"Ooops, word censored!"er), spray them with Poultry Shield, leave for a while then wipe clean/dry with kitchen paper. I then put red mite powder on the ends while they're damp and leave to dry abit more if I can. They are often still a bit damp when I put them back in - is this a bad thing?

[The Dogmother]

I don't think it's a problem Fee, mine are nearly always damp when they go back in.

[chelsea]

mine are damp too, I cover mine in diatom and redmite powder as prevention..I think it helps to have them slightly damp when adding all the powders anyway.

[Charlottechicken]

I wash them with washing up liquid in water and an old washing up brush, after s"Ooops, word censored!"ing them with an old barbecue s"Ooops, word censored!"er first. Then I put in a lovely new set of home made roosting bars while the old ones dry in the shed for a week!

 

 

 

Sorry, just showing off!

[red]

[red]

[Charlottechicken]

[PurpleHen]

Mine only get a s"Ooops, word censored!"ping from week to week - then occasionally they get blasted with the pressure washer. It works a treat. We live in an area with plenty of water though - and no hosepipe ban that I can ever remember.....

[Chicken Licken]

I s"Ooops, word censored!"e and wash the bars with a bit of ecover each week end and leave them to dry out as much as possible. They never seem to come totally clean though. At the moment I am not using any redmite powder/ diatom (what ever it is) or anything else - should I be? I do give the girls citricidal in their water and a bit of poultry spice in their pellets to keep them healthy but haven't really tackled the mites etc yet - what do folks recommend?

[The Dogmother]

I press Diatom onto the ends of the cars (easiest when they are still damp) and sprinkle it along the ledges that they rest on. I add some Barrier red mite powder (omlet shop) to the nest as it smells lovely and keeps mites at bay.

[jomax]

I clean the eglu every Saturday morning. I let the girls out in to the garden. Remove the top, then empty the tray in to a composter (the girls like being put into the composters to eat all the lovely worms), then I spray the roosting bars with diluted Jeyes fluid. I keep a fairly strong mix say about a desert spoon in 500 ml of water in an old kitchen cleaner pump spray bottle. I allow the bars to soak in the Jeyes mix for about 5 minutes then throw them into the water butt and scrub them clean with the

yard brush. If its warm they dry off quickly in the sun but if it's cold or wet I simply dry them off with old newspaper. The nesting area is usually pretty clean as I fill it with hay and so everything usually comes away with that.

I find that in the run 100ltrs of bark lasts about 6 weeks (I keep the run dry by covering it with a shower curtain in winter), the old fouled bark is shovelled out on to the flower beds.

[Martin B]

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