Cleaning my coop with horse pellets

[jedigurl]

Help! I am brand new to chickens and I just moved my 4 pullets out to their 3x5 coop. I put two bags of horse pellets in the bottom and it’s 2-3 inches deep. (I have enough space for 6 inches of litter)
How do I clean it? Do I try and pick the poop out? Mix it into the pellets? Keep adding more pellets until it’s smelly and then clean the whole thing out???
I want my chickens to have a healthy, comfortable coop.

 

[jedigurl]

Everytime I try to look up what to do, I get 100 different answers. It seems like more than one thing might work, but I’d really like some guidelines

 

[aart]

@Debbie292d uses pellet bedding.

 

[FarmallNut]

I use pellet bedding even in the nest boxes. Get a horse stall rake. Scoop the poop pellets then shake the rake slighty. The clean pellets will fall thru. The poop and soaked pellets will stay on rake.
For the nest boxes I use a cat litter scoop. Same principal. My coop stays clean and virtually no smell using the bedding pellets. They absorb and clump. No messy shavings to deal with. Chickens won’t eat em like some folks say.
YMMV

 

[jedigurl]

I use pellet bedding even in the nest boxes. Get a horse stall rake. Scoop the poop pellets then shake the rake slighty. The clean pellets will fall thru. The poop and soaked pellets will stay on rake.
For the nest boxes I use a cat litter scoop. Same principal. My coop stays clean and virtually no smell using the bedding pellets. They absorb and clump. No messy shavings to deal with. Chickens won’t eat em like some folks say.
YMMV

How often do you scoop? Daily?

 

[FarmallNut]

How often do you scoop? Daily?

8 hens 1 roo
Normally weekly. I also move my coop/run weekly if I can.

 

[jedigurl]

I use pellet bedding even in the nest boxes. Get a horse stall rake. Scoop the poop pellets then shake the rake slighty. The clean pellets will fall thru. The poop and soaked pellets will stay on rake.
For the nest boxes I use a cat litter scoop. Same principal. My coop stays clean and virtually no smell using the bedding pellets. They absorb and clump. No messy shavings to deal with. Chickens won’t eat em like some folks say.
YMMV

@FarmallNut Is this the scoop that pine pellets will fall through? https://a.co/d/0yIJHOI

 

[FarmallNut]

@FarmallNut Is this the scoop that pine pellets will fall through? https://a.co/d/0yIJHOI

Yes
I use that for the nest boxes only
Get the big rake for the coop

 

[Gardening Gal]

I use pellet bedding even in the nest boxes. Get a horse stall rake. Scoop the poop pellets then shake the rake slighty. The clean pellets will fall thru. The poop and soaked pellets will stay on rake.
For the nest boxes I use a cat litter scoop. Same principal. My coop stays clean and virtually no smell using the bedding pellets. They absorb and clump. No messy shavings to deal with. Chickens won’t eat em like some folks say.
YMMV

I have a concrete floor in my coop and have been using pine shavings. If I switch to horse stall pellets I've heard to wet it first? And how deep a layer should there be? Thanks.

 

[The Coop Crew]

We just switched to horse pellets too! This thread has been super helpful! Thank you