The term pressure washer is often far from the register of most small and medium scale poultry farmers. And I will continue to say that the longer we tarry in the place of doing things wrong, the more we compound our problems. What most poultry farmers consider as cleaning and disinfecting is simply packing the litter, soaking the floor with soap, washing with broom, and spraying disinfectant. This is a good try but it is definitely not enough to get rid of some disease causing organisms. Let’s talk about the right way to do it.
The role of a pressure washer in cleaning and disinfecting your poultry house is so big it cannot be left out. You will soon find out exactly why as we proceed.
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Steps to follow in cleaning and disinfecting your poultry house
Every one of these steps is so important that skipping it can ruin the entire process. It is important to do it all. With the right equipment (pressure washer), the work will be at least 50X easier.
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Culling your birds
I want to believe that this is the most predictable of them all. You can’t possibly wash your poultry house when the chickens are there. This is why cleaning is often planned between batches.
Packing the equipment and litter
You will also have to pack the equipment used such as brooder guards, heating devices, feeders, and drinkers. After this, you need to pack the litter material if it’s a deep litter system. This gives room for easy cleaning of the house.
Pre-washing and Soaking
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The pre-washing phase is as important as you can think. Even though a lot of people miss it here. If you are going to do the pre-washing as easy and effective as possible, you are going to need a pressure washer. With this, it is very easy to remove cobwebs and other unwanted particles from the upper part of the house. In this process, the floor gets soaked, allowing for easy cleaning. We need to understand that detergent or disinfectant solutions are not needed in the phase, as the presence of organic matter will reduce their effectiveness. After soaking for 15 to 30 minutes, it’s time to proceed to the next step
Washing with pressure washer
To start washing, you need to first rinse off the poop from the floor, then apply detergent on the floor. Allow the detergent to sit for a few minutes and then use the high pressure washer to wash the house thoroughly. By the time you follow the washing with rinsing, you should have a clean poultry house.
Disinfecting with pressure washer
The reason why you need to wait this long before you disinfect is because you want to be sure the strength of your disinfectant is not reduced by presence of organic matter. In choosing your disinfectant, you want to go with one that has antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal property. As a matter of fact, it should be able to get rid of all possible disease causing organisms.
Suitable disinfectants include the following
- Chlorine compounds – Bleach, Clorox, etc.
- Iodine or iodophors – Weladol, Betadine, etc.
- Oxidizing compounds – Oxy-Sept 333, Virkon S, etc.
- Quaternary ammonium compound – Roccal D Plus
If you follow the steps listed above, no matter how ugly your last experience was, this will give you a fresh start.
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