Proper cleaning and disinfection of poultry facilities

From my personal and professional experience, we have been trying to optimize our protocols, with the aim of trying to reduce time as much as possible, while maintaining efficiency.

The first step that must be carried out is the removal of the manure, which must be done in the first 24 hours once the birds have been removed. This is crucial in the fight against alphitobius (beetles). Once the manure is removed, we should sweep or at least blow through the buildings to eliminate a lot of the organic matter. This will greatly facilitate the cleaning of the floors.

Secondly, we must carry out the cleaning of tanks and interior of the pipes, for which we must consider what products to introduce during an active flock, since if we previously used acids, we should look for a basic product for cleaning, as the biofilm that will be produced will be acidic. In order to save time, we can carry out this step right before the removal of manure, thus allowing the product to take effect while we carry out the other actions.

For this step we must introduce the dilution of water/product inside the water lines. To obtain the best dilution, we should follow the manufacturer's recommendations (normally 2%). If the facilities have a dosing pump, we can use that to input the necessary dosage and run the water through the lines. If the facilities don't have such a tool, then they must have a tank leading to the pipes, where the dilution can be done manually. The objective here is to fill all the pipes with the disinfecting solution and leave it inside for it to take maximum effect. After about 3-6 hours (or as per manufacturer's instructions), we can proceed to flush the lines by passing clean water through them (make sure to keep the ends of the pipes open for proper drainage).

Depending on the area where the farm is located, and the quality of the water there, it is very common that just before cleaning of the facilities begins, we spray the drinkers with an acid solution (several in the market), to eliminate limestone build-up caused by hard water. We must then rinse these drinkers after 20-40 minutes in order to avoid their deterioration.

Once all the above steps are done, we can proceed with the cleaning of the facilities.