View attachment 1880640 View attachment 1880641 View attachment 1880642 Of course as soon as we got everything together and came out to hang by the pool a thunderstorm popped up!!We just sat under the umbrellas and watched the birds doing their “rain dances” weather just cleared and I got some pics of our “improvements”
I've used that. Try it and see!
Pitchfork is the tool you need. Even if you end up with a shovel, a pitchfork works best for to loosen up the mass. I find I can also move much of it with the fork if the ick is a little bit damp. A shovel (if your bedding is like mine) is way more work than anybody ought to do.Thank you! It definitely was not easy! Haha especially since I started out thinking I could use like this grain? Shovel we have, snow shovel? Idk, I think it’s for grain, big and wide and deep and square so I thought I could get a lot of shavings at once, which i could, but it’s dull/flat on the end so I had to push really hard to get it to go into the shavings. Finally after many loads like that I gave up and got a real shovel to dig down lol and alternated between loosening it with that and getting bigger loads with the other shovel. It took forever!! I filled like 3 trash barrels haha still need to figure out how to move them, they are SO heavy. Didn’t really think of that beforehand.
It had built up a ton behind the coop cause they always fall out of the coop and stuff whenever I open the big people door and usually I am more on top of it and clean it every so often but I haven’t done it in a while cause I decided I didn’t really mind it. But it was getting to where it was blocking the door from shutting right and I had to kick it out of the way every time, and the chipmunks love it, and plus my moms family is all coming down for the wedding next month and it looks like poop so I wanted to have it all cleaned up! Haha need to do something with the run too. Maybe not digging though. Maybe just add some leaves on top or something ha it’s all dirt so want it to look nicer. Also, that said, I have also gotten the real shovel and dig down/flipped huge sections of the run too. Not the other day but I do that fairly regularly so they can have fun scratching through it. That is a lot of work too. But yeah, between all the shoveling and the running I was drenched in sweat lol
figured the shavings would fall through or something. Didn’t even think to try it
yes I learned that the hard way too! shavings and even straw mats down like thick carpet!!! it took me several days and many wheelbarrows full to get it all out!! DH has been extremely happy with the way the pine chips have held up now that I’m down to a “normal” number of chickens!! he’s even considering letting me keep all 6 but i’m still not sure about Hodor as his crowing is becoming more annoying each day!!!Thanks! I will keep that in mind for next time. Oddly enough I think I actually do have one of those but didn’t think it would work
I think it would have worked because much of it was very hard packed/clumped together and underneath it was definitely very moist, like compost, and came out mostly in big clumps! So I think I should have had a fork? So seems I did extra work for nothing.
Ah well, needed the exercise.
I tend to way overfill it! Lol so I put way less shavings in the next time. But they all fall out lol I need a lip on the door. But also the chicks kicked a ton out when they were brooding on that side haha slight opening under the door.
But thankfully, about half or more of the shavings ended up outside so the back half of the coop is actually almost empty and down to the floor in places 
Congratulations! 
