Arizona Chickens

[SonoranChick]

@igorsMistress do you do deep bedding method, or how often do you have to clean poop? I'm trying to figure out a more streamlined, less time consuming way to handle the poop situation before my baby comes. I will be dealing with baby poop all day by that point haha...I'm not crazy about deep bedding (@FeatherPugs you mentioned some good points as to why it can be problematic a while back) but I also can't be out scooping poop from the sand everyday. I could easily do dirt floors and pine shavings like you have, depending on what the upkeep is like. I can't add anything to the sand until monsoon season ends though, otherwise I will just have a moldy mess.
@Geranium I do recommend poop boards where they roost. Chickens poop, poop, poop all night long and it's nice to have it consolidated to one area.

 

[SonoranChick]

We should all try to get together sometime. I would love to meet all of you.

I agree, I consider you all to be friends and would love to meet for our own little AZ chicken convention some time

 

[Michelle Guynn]

Yes definitely all of you I consider my friends.

 

[DesertChic]

What do you fellow Arizonans use for your coop floor? I'm so indecisive. My coop will be walk-in with a dirt floor. I have hard, sandy, Tucson dirt. I've considered leaving it plain dirt, using sand, using pine shavings, using DLM, using poop boards, not using poop boards...........

Pine shavings. I love using the deep bedding pine shavings because 1) the chickens love scratching through all of it, and 2) it gives me "free" compost for my gardens. I have to clean out the coops and replace the bedding 2-4 times per year depending upon how many birds I have in each coop and weather conditions.

 

[SonoranChick]

@DesertChic this is great info. I'm leaning more toward pine shavings on top of the dirt. As far as maintenance goes- how often do you turn your shavings, and how often do you add more shavings on top?

 

[cavemanrich]

I have dirt floors with pine shavings. I liked hay a lot more but it's so much harder to turn in the small space. [B][I][COLOR=#006633]I really want to try hemp but it's too expensive at the moment.[/COLOR][/I][/B] I get it wet from time to time to help with dust and break down.

I agree, but your chickens might like it..
[SPOILER="Funny"][ATTACH=full]1507099[/ATTACH][/SPOILER]

 

[BlueBaby]

What do you fellow Arizonans use for your coop floor? I'm so indecisive. My coop will be walk-in with a dirt floor. I have hard, sandy, Tucson dirt. I've considered leaving it plain dirt, using sand, using pine shavings, using DLM, using poop boards, not using poop boards...........

I just use the dirt floor. I put some alfalfa hay in there before, but they eat it. I don't bother with gardening here, so I don't need to make compost.

 

[igorsMistress]

@igorsMistress do you do deep bedding method, or how often do you have to clean poop? I'm trying to figure out a more streamlined, less time consuming way to handle the poop situation before my baby comes. I will be dealing with baby poop all day by that point haha...I'm not crazy about deep bedding (@FeatherPugs you mentioned some good points as to why it can be problematic a while back) but I also can't be out scooping poop from the sand everyday. I could easily do dirt floors and pine shavings like you have, depending on what the upkeep is like. I can't add anything to the sand until monsoon season ends though, otherwise I will just have a moldy mess.
@Geranium I do recommend poop boards where they roost. Chickens poop, poop, poop all night long and it's nice to have it consolidated to one area.

I have a poop board and I LOVE IT. PDZ on it, just a few minutes a couple tumes a week and I'm done.I wet the litter some and stir once a week to keep dust down, but my flock spends very little time in the coop. Just to sleep and lay eggs.

 

[meetthebubus]

i don't understand the need for poop boards, i guess its just for my set up, they roost in the same spot all night, and the poop is just right there in a line and i take my mini rake from walmart and rake it right out in a line too, no need to mess with a board imo i'm sure poop boards can be ideal for many, just personally i can't imagine it working for me or me needing them.

 

[cavemanrich]

It all depends how your coop is structured. With poop boards/trays and especially containing PDZ or even sand, a kitty litter scoop removes all the gumdrops with little effort. My current coop does not have such, but my coop in plans will. It will be a different configuration than what I have currently.