Chicken poop

[Kneiley1]

How often do I bother with cleaning off perches, stairs to run etc that have dried poop? Doesn't bother me really, figure every 3 or 4 months give it all a big scrub down. Love to hear what others do!

 

[chickenlover09]

Lol, i'm sort of the oppisite of you. I can't stand when the smell gets to bad, or to see poop on ramps or anywhere else. I usually scoop out the poop once a week, and sprinkle a little more shavings in.

I got my chickens back in July. I kept them in the brooder for maybe 3 weeks, then I moved them into the coop. Last week, I had to scoop out the entire coop because the smell was horrid (I think it was because they kept kicking water everywhere, but I put the water up higher).

I just moved the coop and am switching the bedding to sand with a pile of wood shavings and shavings in the nesting boxes (I know a lot of people don't like using sand, but I have to switch it because my bf is getting a little aggrivated with shavings....everywhere )

I'll probably switch the sand out every 3 months or so, scrub the roosting bars and ramps weekly and ya.

 

[tracecom]

I scrape them every week or so, but that doesn't remove the stains. I have only had chickens (in a new coop) for a few weeks, and have not yet done any scrubbing. The look of the stains bothers me, but it seems futile to try to remove them. If and when I do, I will likely put a couple of coats of high gloss paint on them to make future cleanings easier.

 

[tracecom]

Lol, i'm sort of the oppisite of you. I can't stand when the smell gets to bad, or to see poop on ramps or anywhere else. I usually scoop out the poop once a week, and sprinkle a little more shavings in.

I got my chickens back in July. I kept them in the brooder for maybe 3 weeks, then I moved them into the coop. Last week, I had to scoop out the entire coop because the smell was horrid (I think it was because they kept kicking water everywhere, but I put the water up higher).

I just moved the coop and am switching the bedding to sand with a pile of wood shavings and shavings in the nesting boxes (I know a lot of people don't like using sand, but I have to switch it because my bf is getting a little aggrivated with shavings....everywhere )

I'll probably switch the sand out every 3 months or so, scrub the roosting bars and ramps weekly and ya.

If you don't have a poop board under the roost, you should consider it. Once I put one up, the poop on the floor was almost nil. My poop board is made with sides, and I have about an inch of PDZ in it; it takes only five minutes with a litter scoop to clean it out.

 

[LaDoodler]

Don't know your coop design, and I have only 8 RIR. But, I'm using the "deep litter method" in my coop, which is composed principally of leaves that were in bags folks in my community had put out by the roadside for pickup. The coop has virtually no smell. Now they've only been in there for 3 months, and I let they out in their pen each day. So, don't know if this would help in your situation or not. But, I know this method is recommended for just about any arrangement. My coop has a dirt floor, which the litter covers. But, it is my understanding that this method will work on a concrete floor too. Don't know about a wood floor. Eventually, I will be removing and replacing a little of the litter on a periodical basis. It will make great compost for my garden and flower beds! In the mean time, before I let them out in the mornings, my girls are constantly scratching around in the litter, which keeps it turned and no droppings accumulate in concentration, even under their roost. Hope this might help you.

Raymond

 

[chickenlover09]

If you don't have a poop board under the roost, you should consider it. Once I put one up, the poop on the floor was almost nil. My poop board is made with sides, and I have about an inch of PDZ in it; it takes only five minutes with a litter scoop to clean it out.

Okay thanks for the tip! I have 2 normal laying hens (not sure of the breed yet, they are about 3 -4 months old) and they always roost, so i'll probably put a poop board there.

Also, does anyone here know if silkies roost? I have 3 silkies and I haven't ever seen them do it yet.

 

[iawoodchip]

I have a 4’x8’ coop erected on a pallet, elevated about 2 feet. The bottom is enclosed with chicken wire. That’s where they do their dust bathing. I add wood ash from time to time. I just have plywood sheeting for the floor and a combination of wood shavings and saw dust on the floor. There’s about 9’ of roost for 7 pullets. I keep straw in the nest boxes, and the water is mostly outside. The chickens free range through the day, so they’re only in the coop at night. Lucky me, I can reach everything in the coop with a garden hoe, scrape it down & mix it into the floor litter every morning. After about two months, I don’t detect any odor yet. I’m thinking I’ll do a good clean-up and replace the shavings just before winter sets in with a good 6” of shavings, and hope it lasts until spring.

 

[aart]

I have 15 chooks in a 16 x 6 foot coop, 18 feet of roosts over poop boards with sand/PDZ, coop floor has pine shavings(2 bales) that are totally changed out every 6 months.
There are a couple ramps inside to the roost and nests and outside down to the run, the 8 x 50 foot run is sandy soil that occasionally gets some thinly spread grass clippings in the summer and some straw on the snow/mud in the winter and during the muddy snow melt in spring.

I sift the poops off the boards into a bucket every other day, that goes to a friends compost. I just scrape off any poops on the ramps onto the floor or ground.
Would not bother 'scrubbing' anything down as it's futile unless you're a clean freak and only have a few chooks....in that case a washable paint would be recommended.

Keeping things dry is the key to odor problems. Stains, IMO, are unavoidable.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, the key to no smell is to keep it dry. Either keep water out or build it so it dries out really well if it does get wet. Also don’t let the poop build up enough to remain wet.

We all have different conditions. I’m in a rural area so I don’t have close neighbors and the coop is a couple of hundred feet away from the house. I don’t have to be highly concerned about a little smell like others do, but mine doesn’t smell anyway. I keep it dry. I have a fairly large coop for the number of chickens I have and I use a droppings board. I use pine shavings on the floor, which is dirt. The coop is 8x12 and I may have anywhere from 7 to 30 chickens in there. When there are several a lot are young so the effect isn’t as bad as some people may think.

I scrape the droppings board about once every two to three weeks, depending on how many chickens I actually have in there and how bad the poop builds up. Humid weather makes a difference too. It just doesn’t dry out as well when it is raining. If it ever starts to smell, I waited too long but that rarely happens. My droppings board is just a flat board, no lips around the edge and nothing on it. That pure poop goes to my compost pile.

I clean the bedding out about once every four years, not because I have to but because I want that on my garden. After the garden is finished in the fall, I spread that old bedding in there. By spring it is broken down enough to really enrich the soil and improve the tilth tremendously. I probably should do it more often but with all the compost I get plus all the mulch that gets tilled in, I don’t see a huge need.

I use tree limbs as roosts and never scrape them. Nothing builds up on them. I don’t worry about the chickens spotting steps or other surfaces. It doesn’t get thick enough to cause a problem and I wear certain shoes just for the chicken area so I’m not tracking any of that stuff anywhere it doesn’t need to be.

People in other conditions and with different goals will do it differently. We are all unique.