Spring (coop) cleaning...tada!

Ahem.

It's HERE!


(Actually, it's been here for a while now but after such a slow approach that it seemed to creep up almost in disguise.)

I'm talking, of course, about spring.

It has sprung in central Indiana, despite rainy, cool weather until the last few week or so.  All the rain has made for a particularly gorgeous spring, even though it has often been too chilly and wet to be outside enjoying it.

I didn't check, but I'm sure that I've written about our lilacs before.  So I'll just say, that there is particularly wonderful timing between the row of blooming lilacs and the first time each spring when it is warm enough for us to have windows open for days at a time.  The result is that we are given frequent fragrant breezes and live in a sweetly perfumed world, just as it is finally turning green outside.  It is heavenly to be standing in the living room and suddenly watch the curtains flutter and then inhale the sweet, airy, scent like some sort of gift for making it through winter.  Spring is a revelation, every time.
 
Last Sunday was the biannual Great Coop Clean-out, which is a big undertaking, but very satisfying to accomplish.  This one was particularly so, because I decided to use herbs in the fresh straw and nest box, and an orange-cinnamon infused vinegar for spraying down the roost. (Orange peels--I freeze them for later use--cinnamon, and white vinegar.  Ordinarily, I would combine them in a jar with a plastic lid and let it infuse for 4-6 weeks.  Today I was impatient, and so I simmered the mixture for 20 min on low heat instead.  Smells divine.)

I have my methods fine-tuned for our current coop, which always ends, at one point or another, with me silently swearing that our next coop will be fully human-height, so that I never have to crouch or attempt to sustain advanced yoga poses in order to scrub it all down.  Someday, I promise.

In any case, since we use the deep-litter method for our coop, I start by shoveling (as in snow shovel) out the bedding in the base of the coop, depositing it on a tarp until I have a decent pile in the center.  This, I drag around the side of the house to the garden and then roll the composted litter out onto my garden rows or any area where I want to blanket the ground and kill either turf or weeds.  Eventually, I'll either dig this right into the beds, or if it needs more time, transfer it to the compost pile.

Back in the coop, after wielding a shop vac and a screwdriver for any nooks or crannies, I typically have a few stubborn patches left on the linoleum, but that's easily handled by dribbling white vinegar liberally over them.  While that soaks in, I scrub down the walls and ceiling with hot water/vinegar/peppermint castile, and then finally address the floor.  While the coop dries, I mix up more disinfectant and wipe down the outside and clean the nest box. 

Then in goes fresh, clean straw and herbs.  This is the best part...somehow it reminds me a bit of putting crisp, line-dried sheets on the bed and then slipping between them while just from the bath yourself.  The sweet scent of the herbs this time really reinforced the shiny-clean, spring-is-here vibe, at least for the human involved with the experience.

I used lemon balm, mint, and lavender all of which are highly aromatic and should be a tool against mites, flies, and other bugs.  I also have tansy that volunteered in the veggie garden this spring, so I will be adding that for its bug-repelling properties.  The girls seem happy with the fresh straw and a new tree-branch roost, and I am happy to have this task off the list!