I guess I am confused-I didn't see anywhere on here where anyones chickens were sleeping in or on their poop. Mine are on a roost far away from their poo. But you are right -everyone should keep their hands cleaned---I always carry stuff to wash my hands after going to walmart-it's scarier than my coop!!!!
Mine do sleep on their poop. The will not roost. So I am trying the DLM and like another poster I am having a hard time knowing how much poop is in there, but yesterday I went in to give it a stir and was surprised at how much it had already started to break down over just a few days. I will probably clean it out more often then I need to, but at least I won't be doing it every 2-3 days. Do you have any clue how fast you can go through a big bag of compressed shavings that way?
So now it has been about 2 weeks since I last changed it and there is no smell, it is dry and the chickens are still healthy! 
i love it when someone tries a new/different method.............now throw diffrent types of litter in with the shavings and it will compost (breakdown) even faster, throw a few grains of corn occasionally in the litter let the hens turn it. you wont have to do hardly anything.
suggestion for your problem of hens not roosting. make sure the roost is low enuff. make sure if there are multiple roost poles that they are on the same level. the ladder method is not the best method. make sure the roosts are rounded and not flat boards b/c its more natural for a hen to grip a branch than sit on a flat board, and most importantly, go out after dark and place them on the roost. a week of "training" them they should get the idea.
I agree....I week of training does the trick. I had one flock that wanted to sleep in the nesting boxes. We blocked them off at night, went out put them on the roosts and quickly turned off the lights. Most of this flock "got it" after only 4 nights. We are currently working with another group that we got as older chickens. They have apparently never been on a roost and go crazy trying to keep their balance. After 3 nights we managed to put them all up, they stayed and we turned off the lights. We'll see how it goes tonight.
I've been called the "Crazy Chicken Lady" We are home to 6 Golden Comets, 3 Black Sex Links, 2 White Rocks, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Gold Wyandottes, 4 Silver Wyandottes, 8 Easter Eggers, 2 Silkies, 2 Brown Leghorns, and 2 Old English Bantams and 2 unknowns!
I've been called the "Crazy Chicken Lady" We are home to 6 Golden Comets, 3 Black Sex Links, 2 White Rocks, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Gold Wyandottes, 4 Silver Wyandottes, 8 Easter Eggers, 2 Silkies, 2 Brown Leghorns, and 2 Old English Bantams and 2 unknowns!
