New chicken owner with cleaning questionHello

[hmmm]

Hello, My hens are 7 weeks old I have 4 in a coop that can hold 6 to 8. I also have a run.
I use pine shavings.

I was wondering how often do I need to change the pine and how much pine shavings?

My coop has a drwar that you pull out but does not allow you to use much shavings if you want the tray to slide out ?.

How often do I need to change the shavings in the nesting boxes?

Do I need to rake the Ground in the coop and Run and take the old out and put new dirt and leaves back in?

I use vinigar and soap to clean the feeders is thAt ok?

I put the chickens in the run and cleaned coop wood with vinegar once a week is that to much?


Thank you!!

 

[Circle W Farms]

Welcome to BYC. I use pine shavings too. I replace them about every 2 weeks and rake my run at the same time. I personally use soap and hot water to clean feeders and waters but I guess vinegar and water will work. As for cleaning the coop, I clean my walls and floor once a year in the fall and I use bleach and water but don't return chickens until it is completely dry.

 

[hmmm]

Do I need to change the shavings in the nesting boxes more often? How deep should me shavings be? Thank you. I think I have been over cleaning I am nervous about the eggs being clean when they start laying. Should I be removing and adding new dirt to the coop floor and run? Thank you so much

 

[sebloc]

Hello. I change my shavings like twice a year, but I shovel out the poop once a week. Throw new stuff in too once and a while to make up for the stuff you take out. As for the nesting boxes, I use hay. Since chickens generally like to lay in clean, comfortable spots, you shouldn't need to clean it out as often. I add new stuff because they kick the old stuff out themselves. I would recommend only cleaning the nesting boxes out if it gets really messy, there's mites, etc. Make sure the floor is decently covered, maybe in inch or two high. As for the nesting boxes, make sure they're covered a bit more than that. Same thing applies to the run, change it once or twice a year with new stuff, but rake some of the old stuff out when you rake the poop out of the coop. Don't clean the eggs until you're ready to use them. If they have poop on them, clean them, but put them in the fridge. I would cut back a little on the cleaning, but hey, a clean coop is a happy coop.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I was wondering how often do I need to change the pine and how much pine shavings? When odour or when dirty feet on your chickens become an issue. Amount is something you will figure out when you either put in too much or not enough.

How often do I need to change the shavings in the nesting boxes? When dirty eggs become an issue.

I have tried most bedding and deep litter method. I also am a big fan of poop boards. My boards are only 3½ inches away from the removable roost. The close proximity of the poop boards saves eggs from breaking or cracking when they are laid through the night.

This spring, summer and fall I am trying a different tack. I placed a steel wire grid suspended 3½ inches above my covered vinyl floor (the height of a 2x4). The raw hen manure drops through the grid and does not come in contact with my birds what so ever.

The positive results so far I have found are:

1) My chickens feet and birds plumage in general are cleaner.
2) The nest boxes stay cleaner longer
3) My eggs are cleaner as well
4) I eliminated the cost of bedding
5) My chicken manure is better for composting.
6) The manure dries to a hard pellet and for the most part just rolls of the vinyl flooring into the compost bin.
7) Where the coop is well ventilated the well dried manure gives of no noticeable ammonia smell so far.

I especially like this method for the warmer months when the hens spend the majority of the time in the run. It has been well over a month and see no need yet to clean out the drop pit under the wire grid.
I may revert back to the deep litter method through the winter when my hens are confined to the coop. The wire grid may prove taxing to their feet time will tell.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You wont have to worry about the nesting boxes for quite some time now. I suggest closing them off to not promote bad habit of sleeping in them. You want the birds to roost and not overnight in nests. Once they are in the habit of roosting and combs are turning red as they enter point of lay open up the nesting boxes and they will instinctively want to use those secure out of the way areas to lay. You can just put used balled up feed bags in the nests until nearing the time they will be using them. I use hay for nests. They stay clean excepting occasional poo from a prolonged period to lay the egg. If the nest gets dirty I flip it over. They will mat the hay and the nest will be easily picked up to flip. Sometimes I flip them back over again then change out the hay.

The coop liter, I use pine shavings too, must be cleaned out as it's needed. Like above poster we shovel off top layer, under roosting bars, every few weeks and don't change out entire bedding but 2 or three times a year. Since you won't be able to have 4 or more inches of liter you may need to clean out most of it each cleaning. Basically, you'll see how it goes and how much you need to take out and how often. You replace what you shovel out with new shavings and you do it enough that you never or just as you begin to notice an odor.