I clean my coops by flipping the dirt. I just use a shovel or pitchfork. The first year or so is a pita, but after that the dirt becomes soft and easy to work, and I at that point I find the work a pleasure.
Where I'm at it's hot and dry, our soils heavy clay, and all 8 of our coops/runs are fully roofed. We don't have much in the way of natural organics like leaves to add. Our native trees have leaves about the size of a grain of rice and thorns that can reach a couple inches long. We do get mesquite wood and beans, and cactus pads...but all of those are risky for chicken feet. Even after chipping, some of the mesquite thorn bits can get you. So all of that stuff gets cold composted with horse manure.
We also have snakes, snakes and more snakes where I'm at. I found in my first few years of chickens here that the snakes like deep litter or anything they can burrow into. Maybe because our natural landscapes pretty barren.
I really want the deep litter, compost in my runs though and this year is the first year I haven't seen a single rattlesnake. Instead I've seen about ten different king snakes of various ages on our property. The number of kingsnakes has been growing for a few years and rattlesnakes decreasing. Kings are known for killing rattlesnakes so I'm hopeful our 20 yrs of rattlesnake problems are over. So this year I added a year old cold compost pile and paper shreds to my newest coop where the dirts still a pain to flip. Retoppong occasionally from another old cold compost pile and paper shreds. I haven't flipped the dirt in that coop ever yet and so far it's ok. Think my birds in the flipped dirt coops have better dust bathing though so I might add a dust bath tire to my experimental bedding coop.
Where I'm at it's hot and dry, our soils heavy clay, and all 8 of our coops/runs are fully roofed. We don't have much in the way of natural organics like leaves to add. Our native trees have leaves about the size of a grain of rice and thorns that can reach a couple inches long. We do get mesquite wood and beans, and cactus pads...but all of those are risky for chicken feet. Even after chipping, some of the mesquite thorn bits can get you. So all of that stuff gets cold composted with horse manure.
We also have snakes, snakes and more snakes where I'm at. I found in my first few years of chickens here that the snakes like deep litter or anything they can burrow into. Maybe because our natural landscapes pretty barren.
I really want the deep litter, compost in my runs though and this year is the first year I haven't seen a single rattlesnake. Instead I've seen about ten different king snakes of various ages on our property. The number of kingsnakes has been growing for a few years and rattlesnakes decreasing. Kings are known for killing rattlesnakes so I'm hopeful our 20 yrs of rattlesnake problems are over. So this year I added a year old cold compost pile and paper shreds to my newest coop where the dirts still a pain to flip. Retoppong occasionally from another old cold compost pile and paper shreds. I haven't flipped the dirt in that coop ever yet and so far it's ok. Think my birds in the flipped dirt coops have better dust bathing though so I might add a dust bath tire to my experimental bedding coop.
no way ! I'll stay in Florida. Lol
I will not be throwing stones....
