Chicken cleaning

[Oreoandhens]

Hopefully a bigger coop too....6 birds will not be happy or healthy sleeping in there.

Guessing you live in the UK, because of the bedding product you linked, but.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2280150

Not to mention 4 of our hens are bantams

 

[humblehillsfarm]

No the wood chips are changed every 4 months if not longer. I change the coop litter weekly.

The coop litter is what I meant. In the image it looked as if you were replacing pine shavings

 

[Oreoandhens]

The coop litter is what I meant. In the image it looked as if you were replacing pine shavings

Oh sorry ha! Yeh the coop litter I change weekly so I’m not too sure wether I’m just being paranoid and changing it too often

 

[GC-Raptor]

So are you saying you remove and replace wood chips weekly??

Yes, when at capacity. Otherwise it's 2 weeks.
A bundle from lasts 3 to 6 weeks.

I get 2 bundles when I buy a 50 lb bag of feed.
Egg sales pay for feed, scratch and shavings. GC

 

[GC-Raptor]

The coop litter is what I meant. In the image it looked as if you were replacing pine shavings

I know. GC

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Yes, when at capacity. Otherwise it's 2 weeks.
A bundle from lasts 3 to 6 weeks.View attachment 2280169
I get 2 bundles when I buy a 50 lb bag of feed.
Egg sales pay for feed scratch and shavings. GC

Personally I don't feel that is cost effect and is fairly wasteful financially and environmentally. You're certainly taking good care of your flock, but there are more sustainable methods of keeping a clean coop. For example, I started with a poop board lined with PDZ used pine shavings as litter. I would scoop up any stray poop from the shavings and scoop the poop board daily. I only had to replace the shavings every 3 months, but they were dusty so I wasn't a fan of the shavigns themselves.

Now I use a scoopable litter (I collect and dry coffee grounds from Starbucks for free), or you can use sand. You can scoop it daily. I have 17 birds and it takes me 2-3 minutes to scoop. The coffee grounds are compostable which is nice, but both the sand and the grounds won't have to be changed for months if not years as long as you scoop daily and add more as needed. It's way more cost effective AND time effective to not replace pine shavings so often!

Edit to add: I still use pine shavings in the nest boxes and replace those every few months.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Personally I don't feel that is cost effect and is fairly wasteful financially and environmentally.

The shavings don't get thrown out they go into their pen.

GC

 

[Cindy in PA]

I clean out 2 times a year, but add bedding when necessary. I have no poop boards, but have been taking out the poop under the roost every 2 weeks or so this summer. The rest of the 8 by 8 coop stays pretty clean, as mine seem to stay outside except when they eat or drink.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

The shavings don't get thrown out they go into their pen.View attachment 2280186
GC

Still, I'll refer back to the cost, time, and effort. Ultimately the way you manage your coop is your choice, but you asked a question and that was my opinion on coop management.

 

[aart]

The coop is fine I believe as it has three roosting bars inside of it. Yes we’re in the UK so very average summers and winters, nothing too extreme.

Yep, familiar with these coops. Roosts are not sized or spaced well.
Ventilation is almost non existent.
Mild climate might help, but still.

Not to mention 4 of our hens are bantams

That might help.
Best of cLuck!