Clean your barn and chicken personalitys

[mm22kids]

so, Its time to clean our barn out and I'm not looking forward to it. We have a winters worth of hay on the ground and all the nesting boxes need a white washing.

How often do you clean out your barns of old hay on the ground. Do you use hay or other material?

My next question is no matter how high we make the chicken pen walls there are about 10 chickens that fly the coop. Why? and with out putting a top on it how can I stop them?



Tania From MA

 

[Tweakster]

Tania,

I'd seriously consider a roof over the area as it will be a matter of time before a predator climbs over it and helps themselves to a few of your chickens. Hawks can be problematic with open runs.

Otherwise, a six foot barrier will keep most chickens in. Those few that can clear a six foot wall (I have a white leghorn pullet that does) you simply clip the main flight feathers on one wing. It doesn't hurt them and it greatly reduces their vertical aspirations.

By barn, do you really mean a barn or do you mean a coop? Either way, the bottom line becomes "how long can you go before the smell becomes too offensive?" A lot depends on your flock management methods. Deep litter methods require little, if any cleaning, perhaps yearly. I have a chicken tractor with pine shavings in the coop and I try to replace the shavings in the coop every weekend, sometimes it has gone two weeks between cleaning. A large coop with a concrete floor may need cleaning only once a month, if there aren't too many chickens in it. Again, a lot depends on the type of coop and your individual management methods. There is no "one rule to bind them all" or magic bullet. Find out what works for you, which means you have to navigate the thicket of advice that is available.

Best of luck!