"Fresh
Eggs Daily" is author Lisa Steele's guide to raising healthy chickens
naturally, which includes feeding them a diet of herbs, flowers, and
greens.
Cover Courtesy St. Lynn's Press
Learn to treat your flock to a diet rich in a variety of herbs, greens, and flowers with Fresh Eggs Daily
(St. Lynn’s Press, 2013). Lisa Steele offers dozens of simple,
intelligent, and easy green tips for “going natural” that help you avoid
common ailments that plague many backyard flocks. This excerpt from “In
the Winter” features two recipes for refreshing and cleaning a chicken
coop.
You can purchase this book from the Capper’s Farmer
store: Fresh Eggs Daily.
Refresh a Dirty Chicken Coop with these Easy Green Tips
I
have developed an all-natural refreshing spray for chicken coops that
combines the rodent-repelling and insecticide properties of mint with
soothing lavender in a white vinegar base (for both disinfecting and
antibacterial qualities). Easy and inexpensive to make, a bottle stored
in your coop and used any time your coop needs a bit of a refresh will
help keep your coop sanitized and rodent free.
You can also substitute vodka for the white vinegar in the following
recipes. Why use vodka for cleaning? Vodka is another fine natural
cleanser. It not only repels insects, it actually kills them. It is
antibacterial and kills mold and mildew. As an added benefit, vodka is
odorless, unlike white vinegar, which has a distinctive smell.
Lavender Mint Coop Refresh Spray
Handful of fresh mint
Handful of fresh lavender leaves and/or bud
Bottle of white vinegar (or inexpensive vodka)
2 one-pint canning jars
Spray bottle
Divide the herbs between two canning jars, crushing
them a bit with your fingers as you add each sprig to release the
essential oils. Add white vinegar or vodka to each jar to completely
cover, leaving at least 1/4 inch headroom in each jar. Screw on the lids
and then set the jars in your pantry or on the kitchen counter to age.
Shake the jars every few days to mix the contents.
The mixture
will start to turn a greenish-brown color and smell fragrant in a week
or two, indicating that the spray is ready to use. Strain the contents
into a spray bottle. Spray in your coop as needed to keep it smelling
fresh.
For Cleaning a Chicken Coop, Follow These Easy Green Tips
While
a quick refresh results in a fragrant coop, take care that you are not
merely masking any true odors that should be attended to. Any whiff of
ammonia should be cause for a thorough cleaning. Chicken droppings emit
ammonia and the fumes can irritate your hens’ eyes and mucous membranes.
Many chicken keepers will tend to reach for the bleach as a coop
cleaner, but mixing ammonia and bleach, as you may know, can result in
toxic fumes. A far better alternative is this natural orange peel and
white vinegar coop cleaner.
White
vinegar, as mentioned above, is a natural disinfectant with
antibacterial properties. It kills mold and is an ant repellent. Caution: Although apple cider vinegar has wonderful health benefits, which will be discussed later in the book, it should never be
used for cleaning, because it will attract fruit flies.
My coop cleaner
includes orange peels. Citrus oil is a natural insect repellent and
proven solvent, making it perfect for scrubbing your roosting bars. I
add cinnamon sticks to the cleaner because cinnamon oil kills mosquito
larvae.
Mosquitoes can spread fowl pox, a disease that causes black
spots on hens’ combs. I also add vanilla beans to repel flies,
mosquitoes and other insects. As in the preceding recipe, vodka can be
substituted for the vinegar in this recipe if you wish.
Orange Peel White Vinegar Coop Cleaner
4 oranges (or 6 limes, 5 lemons, 2 grapefruit — or a mix)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 vanilla beans
Bottle of white vinegar (or inexpensive vodka)
2 one-pint canning jars
Spray bottle
Peel the citrus and divide the peels between two
canning jars. Break the cinnamon sticks in half and add to the jars.
Slit each vanilla bean and add to the jars. Pour enough white vinegar or
vodka into each jar to completely cover the peels, leaving at least 1/4
inch headroom in each jar. Screw on the lids and then set the jars in
your pantry or on the kitchen counter to age. Shake the jars every few
days to mix the contents.
The mixture will start to turn an orangish-tan
color and smell fragrant in a week or two, indicating that the spray is
ready to use. Strain the contents into a spray bottle to use full
strength for scrubbing roosts or nesting boxes, or mix with water to
scrub the coop floor and walls. The cinnamon stick and vanilla bean can
be reused for a second batch, but use fresh citrus peels. (This cleaner
also makes a wonderful all-natural non-chemical kitchen cleaner.
Reprinted with permission from Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chicks…Naturally by Lisa Steele and published by St. Lynn’s Press, 2013. Buy this book from our store: Fresh Eggs Daily.
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