advice on sand coop/run daily chores with new laying pullets

[aart]

My coop does not smell bad at all, smells like hay/compost.

Time will tell if the DL will work out for you.
But you'll see that those cute little pullet poops will triple in size and stench once they start laying.

I sift the poop boards every day or two....takes maybe 10 minutes....it does get old.
But I'd rather get the poop out to friends compost weekly than shovel out a years worth piled on floor...but I'm a weak old woman, can't do the heavy lifting any more, so break it down into a smaller task.

 

[Suzi18]

Hi everybody!

I am curious about some daily flock management and how ya'll manage your daily duties. So this is what we have: a sand floor coop and run (run actually is 2/3 sand and 1/3 dirt and straw). You can see a pic of the outside of our set-up in my avatar picture. Our girls are of the following ages.. 6 pullets are 17 weeks today, 10 pullets and 1 cockerel are 16 weeks today and 6 more pullets are 12 weeks today.

Right now, I go out in the early morning (usually between 6:30 and 7:00) to clean any poo in the run I missed from the night before, open up their automatic food feeders (we cover at night, to discourage mice, etc), open up run pop door, clean overnight poo out of coop, open or close coop windows (depending upon weather) and top-off any food and check the waterers. Then depending upon our daily schedule I will go out again between 9:30 and 10:30 to let everyone free-range in the backyard for about an hour.

I have heard to leave all chores until egg-laying is complete for the day, so I am curious if that is a good "rule" to follow or if others have done different schedules that work well. We have 1 hen, 17 weeks today (a Silver Laced Wyandotte) who we have observed starting to squat. So, we will have at least 1 layer in our bunch of newbies soon (we hope!)

We must be soulmates. Lol I too have sand in my coops and run and I do exactly the same thing you do. I would rather take 5_10 mins everyday then deal with the smell and the poop everywhere. The only thing I do different is I let my girls out as soon as I go out and then do my chores around them. It's funny how nosey they are and want to know everything I am doing. I also let my free range in the evening as I work 8-4 and then let them free range in the evening a few hrs before sunset. Enjoy your girls...and boy!!

 

[Suzi18]

Well, it seems as though I'm on the right track! I am always in our coop/run outside of my daily chores.. talking and petting, just plain interacting I apparently AM the weird chicken lady that I didn't think I would turn out to be!

I also have turned out to be the weird chicken lady I never thought I'd be. !

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

We must be soulmates. Lol I too have sand in my coops and run and I do exactly the same thing you do. I would rather take 5_10 mins everyday then deal with the smell and the poop everywhere. The only thing I do different is I let my girls out as soon as I go out and then do my chores around them. It's funny how nosey they are and want to know everything I am doing. I also let my free range in the evening as I work 8-4 and then let them free range in the evening a few hrs before sunset. Enjoy your girls...and boy!!

Thank you Suzi! Ours are super nosey too! For me, it is part of the fun... watching their personalties

 

[Cindy in PA]

I clean the coop 2 times a year & add material in between as necessary, like if it's extremely wet. I have never really cleaned the run. I add sand every couple years. Throw in weeds etc. & till it if it gets really compacted. I rake the stones & sticks from time to time. Never really smells unless it is wet for months. Wow, you all do so much work for a few chickens, but to each his own I guess.

 

[Suzi18]

I clean the coop 2 times a year & add material in between as necessary, like if it's extremely wet. I have never really cleaned the run. I add sand every couple years. Throw in weeds etc. & till it if it gets really compacted. I rake the stones & sticks from time to time. Never really smells unless it is wet for months. Wow, you all do so much work for a few chickens, but to each his own I guess.

I guess some of us just have higher expectations of how we want our coops to smell and look. I can't stand a poopy messy looking coop and run and so the sand works best for me as I know it is clean every day...not just twice a year. But as you said....to each his own

 

[Cindy in PA]

Pretty big assumption there, wouldn't you say? My coop & run are never a poopy mess & if yours are when you don't scoop everyday, then you have a problem. Just trying to say that chickens are only as high maintenance as you make them.

I guess some of us just have higher expectations of how we want our coops to smell and look. I can't stand a poopy messy looking coop and run and so the sand works best for me as I know it is clean every day...not just twice a year. But as you said....to each his own

 

[Suzi18]

Pretty big assumption there, wouldn't you say? My coop & run are never a poopy mess & if yours are when you don't scoop everyday, then you have a problem. Just trying to say that chickens are only as high maintenance as you make them.

I don't assume anything. I'm just saying I don't like leaving poop in my coop or my run, that's why I choose to scoop it out everyday. I also don't look at it as being high maintenance at all. 5 mins a day scooping and enjoying my nosy hens company while I do it is not a problem at all. I'm fine with it

 

[TalkALittle]

I did a side by side comparison in my run when I was contemplating converting from sand to deep litter. The only time the birds spent on the sand side was to dust bathe and when walking across it to get to the deep litter side. The "clean look" of sand was just not worth the lack of mental and physical enrichment and satisfaction that the deep litter so obviously supplies my chickens. And you'd be hard pressed to find a poop in my run. They are covered over within minutes of dropping.

 

[Suzi18]

I did a side by side comparison in my run when I was contemplating converting from sand to deep litter. The only time the birds spent on the sand side was to dust bathe and when walking across it to get to the deep litter side. The "clean look" of sand was just not worth the lack of mental and physical enrichment and satisfaction that the deep litter so obviously supplies my chickens. And you'd be hard pressed to find a poop in my run. They are covered over within minutes of dropping.

The poop is still there....it's just covered up. If you're ok with that, then that's great. Just not what I prefer. That's the beauty of a free country. We all get to make our own decisions. And believe me...my chickens are very happy. Guess nobody has told them yet that they have a sand floor in their run.