Best Coop Bedding??

[beginnergirl]

Stephanie,
I also pick up the poop everyday too. Keeps the coop cleaner plus I will add it to my compost. I just don't like the idea of deep litter b/c the girls are always stepping on their poo. I also hope by picking up the poo there is less ammonia. And I've had to rinse off one of the hen's feet that were covered in stinky poo.

 

[JacksHomestead]

Stephanie,
I also pick up the poop everyday too. Keeps the coop cleaner plus I will add it to my compost. I just don't like the idea of deep litter b/c the girls are always stepping on their poo. I also hope by picking up the poo there is less ammonia. And I've had to rinse off one of the hen's feet that were covered in stinky poo.

yes i think that ill clean a little every day!!

 

[desertrocks]

I went thru this thread and decided to add my 2 cents.
Let me start by saying that we just got our first chickens in May.
We have 23 4-5 month old pullets and a 1 5 month old cockerel in an 8'x12'x7' tall covered open coop.
The floor is raised 2"x6" with about 1/4" gaps.
We live just outside Phoenix so we are very warm and dry for most of the year which is why we decided to go with deep litter.
I use a combination of cedar and pine shavings with some of the fine pine shavings. We also have a horse so once or twice a week, they get a flake of alfalfa to pick thru which they spread out far better than I could.
Scratch, the alfalfa, sunflower seeds, just about anything that goes into the coop generates activity which serves to stir up the litter.
We recently added a kiddie pool with about 4-5" of sand in it to give them options. They seem to love it as well. It will be at least another month before we start allowing them to free range during the day but so far even with running a misting system at times, the floor has remained dry and odor is nil.
The first time I turned the litter I was amazed at how much they compressed it. Before raking it appears to be no more than a couple inches deep. After fluffing it is closer to 12" deep. Within a day or so they have it packed back down tight. I add litter every 3-4 weeks to replace what gets kicked out of the edges of the coop and freshen it.
Septembers project is to add a 4'x8' enclosed roosting/nesting area for when the weather cools. No one is laying yet which we suspect is a combination of the intense summer heat and the age of the birds. We are actually hoping that with it being as hot as it has been, that they will not start for at least another month.

 

[JacksHomestead]

I went thru this thread and decided to add my 2 cents.
Let me start by saying that we just got our first chickens in May.
We have 23 4-5 month old pullets and a 1 5 month old cockerel in an 8'x12'x7' tall covered open coop.
The floor is raised 2"x6" with about 1/4" gaps.
We live just outside Phoenix so we are very warm and dry for most of the year which is why we decided to go with deep litter.
I use a combination of cedar and pine shavings with some of the fine pine shavings. We also have a horse so once or twice a week, they get a flake of alfalfa to pick thru which they spread out far better than I could.
Scratch, the alfalfa, sunflower seeds, just about anything that goes into the coop generates activity which serves to stir up the litter.
We recently added a kiddie pool with about 4-5" of sand in it to give them options. They seem to love it as well. It will be at least another month before we start allowing them to free range during the day but so far even with running a misting system at times, the floor has remained dry and odor is nil.
The first time I turned the litter I was amazed at how much they compressed it. Before raking it appears to be no more than a couple inches deep. After fluffing it is closer to 12" deep. Within a day or so they have it packed back down tight. I add litter every 3-4 weeks to replace what gets kicked out of the edges of the coop and freshen it.
Septembers project is to add a 4'x8' enclosed roosting/nesting area for when the weather cools. No one is laying yet which we suspect is a combination of the intense summer heat and the age of the birds. We are actually hoping that with it being as hot as it has been, that they will not start for at least another month.

Thanks!! and the kiddie pool with sand is a cool idea! Hope you get eggs soon!

 

[chickmomma03]

Mine are pooping on the shelves sometimes, hopefully it will stop at some point (but I won't keep my hopes too high on it). Right now I have been changing as I see needed which is usually once a week (I picked Thursdays since Friday is garbage day). I do clean up things as needed without removing the straw (or bulk of it, depending on what I need to do) throughout the week (I check the coop and exercise pen at least twice a day, sometimes more, I am out there several times a day doing something whether it be food, water, just sitting with them, cleaning up, etc). Hopefully I'm doing it right. During the heat of the summer it was a little more often because we were facing 100+ degree days and the ammonia smell seemed to build faster (I figure if it's bad for me it's bad for my chickens, and I don't want to smell really foul smells when I go out anyways).

 

[desertrocks]

Our lack of humidity helps a lot. Once in a great while it gets humid or damp but nothing like what I remember growing up back East.
That is usually when I give the litter a good stir and add some fresh cedar which is dry so helps to aerate the litter in general and dry faster.
With humidity levels in the single digits at times, any moisture is gone pretty quickly.

 

[Guvnah]

Our lack of humidity helps a lot. Once in a great while it gets humid or damp but nothing like what I remember growing up back East.
That is usually when I give the litter a good stir and add some fresh cedar which is dry so helps to aerate the litter in general and dry faster.
With humidity levels in the single digits at times, any moisture is gone pretty quickly.

Humidity (or lack thereof) is a big factor!

Colorado Springs is pretty dry too. Not Phoenix-dry, but dry nonetheless. We have actually had one of the wetter spring/summer stretches I can remember. On multi-day rainy stretches, the ground in my chickens' run can start to "emit an aura". I throw down more prairie grass I harvest from the local field. Covers it up enough to get us through to the dry days when all returns to olfactory harmony.

 

[Reel Farm]

I'm in alaska where temperature in the winter is avg -35 to -50 our coop is 10 x 12 (if I remember right) lol but tried straw this year letting build up turning adding more never removing anything because need heat where I can get it but the smell on some days omg but 98% it's not bad but I think I'm going to try next winter sand about 10" deep to start this way I can remove there poop so what do you all think?
You think sand would keep the coop as warm as the straw does right now?

My coop stays about 55-72 degrees even in -35. My girls lay all year even when daylight is down to 2 hours. I just have 2 55 watt bulbs on timer for 14 hours.

 

[JacksHomestead]

Personally, I don't think the sand would hold as much heat as the straw does,but if scooped on a regular basis then the smell won't be bad.

 

[Reel Farm]

Hmmmm maybe put good layer of straw down then fill up with sand.

Most around here do what I do and deal with smell because of the heat.
But I have been to others omg I all most yacked walking in to there coops
Like I said mine is just once in while really that's when I know more straw and turning needed.
If I can keep the heat like I do now but be able to go in with kitty litter scoop and clean my life would be much better if it would keep the smell down to nothing.