Cleaning Coop

[TropicalBabies]

I do a deep cleaning about every 4 months or so to my main coop, my mini coop I clean every 1-3 months at least, depending on use... or when it feels gross or I have time. I mix dish soap and vinegar, spray, sit for 1/2 hour then pressure wash. It is completely dry within 1 hour. I also use DE on my branch roosts and poop boards, I do not use DE to rid myself of mites. I grab a handful and throw when birds are not around and it settles thinly just fine. It helps with my daily scraping of boards and composting smells. I also use same treatment on nest boxes and change nesting material once a month. I am in a very warm climate and have a completely open coop and I have fabulous drainage too. The run, I turn in leaves, mulch, grass clippings a few times per year or as needed. My chickens mostly free range. This works for me... my girls rarely have problems with bugs and my eggs are always perfectly clean. Other people in my area do not and they often complain about mites and have dirty eggs. I think that you will find your happy place as you go. What works for some certainly may not work for another.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I do a deep cleaning about every 4 months or so to my main coop, my mini coop I clean every 1-3 months at least, depending on use... or when it feels gross or I have time. I mix dish soap and vinegar, spray, sit for 1/2 hour then pressure wash. It is completely dry within 1 hour.

What works for some certainly may not work for another.

Love how open that is for a warm climate!

Nothing dries around here, so even a minimal amount of wetness of the coop in the morning = won't be dry by nightfall.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Love how open that is for a warm climate!

Nothing dries around here, so even a minimal amount of wetness of the coop in the morning = won't be dry by nightfall.

Thank you, it is fun and works for them and me. But, confess I am envious of the beautiful closed coops I see on these pages, must feel so secure for the girls. I love your roosts and poop screen. How do you do with the bugs in your area if you don't deep clean? Just incase I move to somewhere cooler and wetter?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you, it is fun and works for them and me. But, confess I am envious of the beautiful closed coops I see on these pages, must feel so secure for the girls. I love your roosts and poop screen. How do you do with the bugs in your area if you don't deep clean? Just incase I move to somewhere cooler and wetter?

I actually really like open air coops and while we could have them here, keeping rain and snow out of the roost area and nests could be tough, plus I had floods last year so having an enclosed, slightly elevated coop gave my flock a safe place to ride out the floodwaters.

I've had mites, once (and my theory is the floodwaters carried them in as we had debris from other properties wash up in our yard). Other than that, really no pest insect problem.

 

[M Brennen]

I tend to “deep clean” my coop twice a year (going into winter and coming out of winter). That basically consists of completely cleaning out all the floor bedding and scraping down any built up poop. The rest of the time I do an area clean once a week or once a month depending on how much time the birds spend in outside. My birds do a lot of digging in their run, so I see no reason to turn the soil over. I do sometimes throw out some of their soiled shavings to give them something to do in.

 

[My2butterflies]

I deep clean 2-3x a year. Before and after winter being the main ones.
Poop tarps under roosts get cleaned off once a week. New chips added as needed.
Sounds like you have your own system going on and have a nice clean coop No reason to change it unless you feel it’s necessary.

 

[aart]

I wouldn't use any spray while cleaning. Assuming your coop is wood, moisture is the exact opposite of what you want inside a coop.

Wet cleaning of a chicken coop should only be required in highly unusual circumstances.
Chickens don't do well in damp housing -- their coop and bedding is best kept absolutely dry.

Ditto Dos^^!!!

Save the herbs and spices for when you cook your chickens.

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture
-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).
There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 7 years.

 

[JulieCB]

I do a deep cleaning about every 4 months or so to my main coop, my mini coop I clean every 1-3 months at least, depending on use... or when it feels gross or I have time. I mix dish soap and vinegar, spray, sit for 1/2 hour then pressure wash. It is completely dry within 1 hour. I also use DE on my branch roosts and poop boards, I do not use DE to rid myself of mites. I grab a handful and throw when birds are not around and it settles thinly just fine. It helps with my daily scraping of boards and composting smells. I also use same treatment on nest boxes and change nesting material once a month. I am in a very warm climate and have a completely open coop and I have fabulous drainage too. The run, I turn in leaves, mulch, grass clippings a few times per year or as needed. My chickens mostly free range. This works for me... my girls rarely have problems with bugs and my eggs are always perfectly clean. Other people in my area do not and they often complain about mites and have dirty eggs. I think that you will find your happy place as you go. What works for some certainly may not work for another.

Can you tell me about the screen coverings you have hanging over your coop and run? Many thanks.

 

[jreardon1918]

Cleaning? How about occasionally once per year a full clean out that replaces the pine shavings. Scrape any thing off the wall. Seems to be working. Here is a link to a short article I did on my lazy man's coop cleaning. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/lazy-mans-coop-run-maintenance-and-composting.75327/

YMMV

 

[TropicalBabies]

Can you tell me about the screen coverings you have hanging over your coop and run? Many thanks.

Aloha @JulieCB
That is just shade cloth purchased at -I think- Ace hardware or Home Depot. You can order online also and it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I love it and have had it up for a few years now and it was used for a greenhouse a few years before I got it, so worth the $$ and not overly pricey new. It has made a wonderful difference in my chicken run.