Cleaning hacks?

[Featherlove23]

My husband is currently building our coop. My only concern will be keeping it clean. Anyone got any tips or hacks? I know that with it being a coop I can't keep it perfectly clean. But with the floor and walls being untreated wood I want to put something in it to help with easier cleaning. One of the photos is a panorama.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We put` inexpensive sheet vinyl on the floors of our coops, and plywood underneath. On the wood walls, I use the feed bags that are coated to keep the poop off the walls.
This picture will give you an idea about the walls. of course, you could also use the vinyl flooring on the walls too.

 

[fatty and friends]

puppy pads under food and water make the coop stay waaaay more dry! we use a mix of hemp bedding and pine shavings, then sprinkle nesting herbs on top to keep the smell away longer

also, don’t make nesting boxes lol they won’t use them. mine lay their eggs in their pools, on the patio, under bushes, etc but never in the nesting boxes. unless you have muscovy, then nesting boxes should work

 

[Isadora]

My husband is currently building our coop. My only concern will be keeping it clean. Anyone got any tips or hacks? I know that with it being a coop I can't keep it perfectly clean. But with the floor and walls being untreated wood I want to put something in it to help with easier cleaning. One of the photos is a panorama.

Don't keep water in the coop! As long as they're able to her outside daily, that's where the water should stay.

 

[ruthhope]

also, don’t make nesting boxes lol they won’t use them. mine lay their eggs in their pools, on the patio, under bushes, etc but never in the nesting boxes. unless you have muscovy, then nesting boxes should work

My son's pekins use nesting boxes! He has old drawers and a slatted wooden crate that is the same size as the drawers. THe slatted wooden crate is the preferred nesting box and often all three will lay in it. Other times they use the two deeper boxes. The shallower drawer is only used for napping during the day. [one muscovy and two pekins.]

 

[gtaus]

I put down cheap sheet vinyl in my chicken coop, and it has held up well for 3+ years now. Ducks are more messy, and I would try to keep water out of the coop if you can. Along that line, I would also try to keep the ducks out of the coop as much as I could.

I had great fun raising ducks and geese many years ago, but I live on a lake and I just let them run around in the yard, and lake, as much as they wanted. Still, it seemed like I was always cleaning out the coop. They just require more maintenance than chickens.

Cheap vinyl will protect your flooring, and I know some people are big fans of a product called Black Jack waterproof roof coating. Because your birds will poo wherever they sleep, you want something to cover your flooring so it does not get soaked with urine and all that smell gets into the wood.

 

[ruthhope]

Another cleaning hack -- in addition to using vinyl flooring and protecting the walls -- is to use deep litter bedding. Put in a layer of pine shavings or whatever you are proposing to use for bedding [I add layers of dried oak leaves as they are available in abundance where I am in NE Florida] Just scoop out any particularly gross areas and add another layer of bedding. You can build up 8 or more inches of bedding -- which is good in the winter as it helps keep the ducks warm -- and just rake out the top layers in the spring, leaving the lowest layer. Then carry on from there. If you do not have food and water in the coop, the deep bedding will not get wet nor offensive using deep layer litter. My duck coop does not smell and mine do have food an water inside. But my duck house floor is hardware cloth over sandy soil, and so spilt drinking water -- it happens! -- drains away. With your duck house floor, keep food and water outside!

 

[Featherlove23]

Another cleaning hack -- in addition to using vinyl flooring and protecting the walls -- is to use deep litter bedding. Put in a layer of pine shavings or whatever you are proposing to use for bedding [I add layers of dried oak leaves as they are available in abundance where I am in NE Florida] Just scoop out any particularly gross areas and add another layer of bedding. You can build up 8 or more inches of bedding -- which is good in the winter as it helps keep the ducks warm -- and just rake out the top layers in the spring, leaving the lowest layer. Then carry on from there. If you do not have food and water in the coop, the deep bedding will not get wet nor offensive using deep layer litter. My duck coop does not smell and mine do have food an water inside. But my duck house floor is hardware cloth over sandy soil, and so spilt drinking water -- it happens! -- drains away. With your duck house floor, keep food and water outside!

Thank you! There food and especially water ( learned that the hard way with the brooder pen) will be kept outside. We will probably do vinyl flooring, love that idea. The only times they will be locked inside the coop will be at night. We still have to add ventilation. This is my first time with ducks.. everyday is a learning experience .

 

[Featherlove23]

Another cleaning hack -- in addition to using vinyl flooring and protecting the walls -- is to use deep litter bedding. Put in a layer of pine shavings or whatever you are proposing to use for bedding [I add layers of dried oak leaves as they are available in abundance where I am in NE Florida] Just scoop out any particularly gross areas and add another layer of bedding. You can build up 8 or more inches of bedding -- which is good in the winter as it helps keep the ducks warm -- and just rake out the top layers in the spring, leaving the lowest layer. Then carry on from there. If you do not have food and water in the coop, the deep bedding will not get wet nor offensive using deep layer litter. My duck coop does not smell and mine do have food an water inside. But my duck house floor is hardware cloth over sandy soil, and so spilt drinking water -- it happens! -- drains away. With your duck house floor, keep food and water outside!

They're permanent pool will be an in ground pool. And the flimsy net fence will not stay, it will be a wood fence. They don't stay in it yet but soon, very soon. Like I said in my previous reply. Still needs ventilation and more.