Poultry Barn Cleanout Skid Steer: Why an Enclosed Cab Helps
SSD
Skid Steer Doors of North America
JULY 2026
Running a poultry barn cleanout skid steer means hours in thick litter dust and a strong ammonia smell. An enclosed cab with a shatterproof polycarbonate door puts a solid barrier between you and that air, so far less of it reaches your face while you work. It will not replace the respiratory protection your operation already uses, but it makes cleanout day a lot more comfortable. Here is how it works, and how to pick a door that stands up to barn washdown.
What barn cleanout throws at your face
If you have pushed litter out of a broiler or layer house, you already know the drill. The bucket hits the pack, and a cloud of fine dust rolls up over the machine. It gets in your eyes, your nose, your collar, and every corner of the cab.
Then there is the ammonia. The deeper you dig into wet litter, the stronger it gets. In an open cab, there is nothing between your face and that air for the whole shift.
Add feathers, dander, and bits of caked litter flying off the bucket, and you have one of the dirtiest seats in farming. Low ceilings, support posts, feed lines, and water lines make it a tight, bumpy ride too. Barn work is hard on the operator and hard on the machine.
How an enclosed cab helps on cleanout day
A door and side enclosure do one simple job: they put a physical barrier between you and the barn air. With the cab closed up, the dust cloud coming off the bucket mostly stays outside. Less dust settles on you, and less of the ammonia smell hangs right at your face.
Let’s be straight about what a door is and is not. A skid steer door is a comfort barrier, not a sealed filter system and not personal protective equipment. Cabs breathe, and some dust will always find a way in. Whatever respiratory protection your farm already uses, keep using it.
What the door does deliver is a noticeably cleaner, calmer seat. You spend the day behind clear polycarbonate instead of in the middle of the cloud. The difference tends to show up by the first coffee break: less grit in your teeth, less watering in your eyes, and a shirt that is not caked brown by noon. For a closer look at how enclosures handle dusty work in general, read our guide on dust protection in an enclosed cab.
There is a comfort bonus in every season. A closed cab helps regulate cab temperature, so winter cleanouts are warmer and a cab fan or heater actually has something to work with. Add side window panels ($399) to close up the sides of the cab and you get the full benefit. Not sure if you need the whole setup? Our guide on a door versus a full cab enclosure breaks down what each job calls for.
Why polycarbonate beats glass inside a barn
Barn work is tight-quarters work. Posts, feeder lines, door frames, and gate hardware are all waiting for the corner of your machine. Hit any of them with a tempered glass door and you can end up with a lap full of broken glass and a machine down in the middle of cleanout.
Our doors are made from heavy-duty Lexan polycarbonate. It offers protection superior to tempered glass, and it does not shatter into your lap when the barn wins a round. We were first to market with the shatterproof polycarbonate skid steer door, and our owner Leighton still proves the point on camera by smashing a hammer into one of our doors, unedited. Glass does not survive that test. Ours does.
Clear polycarbonate also keeps your sight lines. You can see the pack, the posts, and anyone who walks into the barn, which matters in a building full of blind corners.
Washdown-friendly: cleaning the door between flocks
Poultry barns get washed down, and your machine should get the same treatment after cleanout. Polycarbonate handles that routine well if you follow a few simple rules.
Simple washdown checklist for a poly door:
- Rinse first. Knock the loose dust, dander, and litter off with plain water before you touch the surface. Wiping dry dust around is what causes fine scratches.
- Wash with mild soap and water. A soft cloth or sponge is all it takes.
- Skip ammonia-based glass cleaners. They are made for glass, not polycarbonate. The same goes for harsh solvents.
- No abrasive pads or dry paper towels. Soft and wet wins.
- Rinse again and let it drip dry, or blot gently with a clean soft cloth.
That is the whole routine. For the full list of what is safe and what is not, see our guide on cleaning products safe for Lexan.
One more washdown-season tip: an electric wiper kit ($229) keeps the door clear when you are working around wet litter, foggers, or early morning condensation.
Open cab vs enclosed cab on cleanout day
| On the job | Open cab | Enclosed cab with poly door |
|---|---|---|
| Litter dust | Rolls straight over you all shift | Barrier keeps most of the cloud outside |
| Ammonia smell | Right at your face | Noticeably reduced at the seat |
| Feathers and flying debris | Lands on you and in the cab | Stays mostly on the outside of the door |
| Bumping posts and feed lines | Nothing between you and the hit | Shatterproof polycarbonate takes it |
| Temperature | Whatever the barn gives you | Enclosure helps regulate cab temperature |
| Washdown | Seat and controls soaked in dust | Wipe the door down and go |
Doors that fit the machines poultry farms run
Poultry operations tend to run compact machines because barn doors and ceilings are low, and a lot of those machines are older units that have earned their keep. We build doors for both.
Every door is CNC-cut and precision fit to your make and model. No guesswork. We cover 12 brands: ASV, Bobcat, CAT, Case, Gehl, John Deere, Kubota, Mustang, Manitou, New Holland, Takeuchi, and Terex.
If you run a common barn machine like a Bobcat S or T series, the Bobcat M Series door ($1,695) covers models from the S450 through the T870. And if your barn machine is an older Case 1840 or 1845C, we build doors for those too. Nobody else makes enclosures for a lot of the older machines still cleaning barns every year, and we are proud to keep them working.
What’s in the box
Your door arrives as a complete model-specific kit:
- The CNC-cut polycarbonate door, precision fit to your machine
- Handle and locking latch with keys
- Hinges
- Weather seal gasket
- All nuts, bolts, and washers
The supplied hardware and printed instructions are in the box. Mounting varies by exact model: some kits bolt straight on and others require drilling and bolting, so those instructions determine the required tools and steps.
Warranty and shipping, plain and simple
Every door carries our limited lifetime warranty against door failure or breakage: one free replacement for life for the original owner, under normal conditions. Hardware is covered for 3 months. Barn work is rough, and we build and back our doors for it.
Shipping is UPS 3 Day Air at a $150 flat rate, typically 3 business days (not guaranteed). Installation timing is separate and depends on the exact model and the mounting steps in its printed instructions.
Find your door in 30 seconds. Pick your machine’s make and model and see the exact door built for it: [Find Your Door]. Questions? Call or text (800) 781-8000, Mon–Fri 7am–4pm CST.