I have my way of cleaning around the barn, but this question got me to thinking and doing a little research. I found this source, CLEANING AND DISINFECTION by the National Animal Health Emergency Management System (NAHEMS). These are the USDA people who respond to major animal disease outbreaks. They are the experts in what is clean.
Reading through it, there is a lot of technical stuff and if you followed it, you would probably have the cleanest and most sanitary facilities in your county and maybe your state. But for our purposes, let me give you a simplified version of what it means to clean a livestock facility.
NAHEMS breaks clean up into two parts, Cleaning and Disinfection. They then break Cleaning and Disinfection into three smaller parts. Let's look at each area.
Cleaning
Cleaning is the removal
of material items from a livestock facility. The first part is called Dry
Cleaning.
"Dry cleaning involves the removal of any gross contamination
and organic material (e.g., soil, manure, bedding, feed) from production areas or
equipment".
This is the hard work part of cleaning. Hauling out all the
manure, old bedding, shavings, feed, hay, trash and finally excess dirt using
shovels, rakes, wheel barrows and brooms. Remember, most of this could be put
into a compost pile, but make sure the trash goes to the landfill where it
belongs.
After Dry Cleaning is Washing. This is the
wet work. Get you rubber boots, scrub brush, bucket and hose for this part.
Find your favorite detergent (soap) and make some suds. Washing is meant to
remove the stuff you didn't or couldn't get during the dry cleaning by
"...removing any oil, grease, or exudates that may inhibit the action of
disinfection".
Why do we wash before we disinfect? The things washing
removes allows the disinfectants to do their job better.
Once everything has be given a good soapy
scrub, its needs to be rinsed and dried. Rinsing should remove all the
detergent or soap and the final few pieces of stuck on manure, dirt, bedding
and other organic matter. And now we can get to the easiest part, Drying. Just
gather up all your cleaning supplies and let everything air dry.
"Whenever
possible, surfaces should be allowed to dry completely (if possible overnight)
before application of a disinfectant".
You read that right, take a break
until tomorrow. Go get your wet clothes changed, make some popcorn, watch a
movie with friends and relax until tomorrow!
DisinfectionOnce Contact Time has passed, get the rubber boots out again because its time to rinse again. Make sure all the disinfectant is completely rinsed off. When you feel it is all gone, time to let it dry again.
Why Do This?
This is a lot of work and may be one of those weekend projects if your barns and facilities are big. But this process can be applied to smaller projects as well. Think about all your tack and equipment. Does it need to be cleaned and disinfected? Cleaning and disinfecting tack and equipment can help prevent the spread of a contagious micro-organism from animal to animal.
Why would someone go to all this work? Have you ever had to deal with a contagious disease or infection with your animals? Think about ringworm, wool fungus, coccidiosis, scours or worse problems. All are contagious but good sanitation can help to control the spread.
I hope you keep clean facilities for your livestock and you take time to clean them thoroughly between each new set of animal you bring in. A little extra time and effort now could prevent a lot of trouble in the future.
Scott Stinnett
Extension Associate
Kit Carson County
Golden Plains Area
Colorado State University Extension
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