Cleaning Poop ON Hen House?

[3KillerBs]

Thank you! My husband and brother built it and we are quite proud of how it has turned out. I am in Greenville, South Carolina with mild winters with occasional bursts of cold but nothing which needs to be closed in all the time.

It's nothing but posts at the moment, but my new coop is going to be an open air style: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/large-open-air-coop-in-central-nc.1443812/

I fell in love with the open air style following this build from Texas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas-coop-build-pic-heavy.1371038/

 

[21hens-incharge]

Chickens tend to sleep out of the coop for a few reasons.

Looking for highest spot, to small inside, to hot, not well ventilated are what I think are the top reasons.

In SC you can likely do an open air coop.

 

[black_cat]

My run is also fully covered with chicken wire so I don’t close the coop at night. I would add areas to roost around the run so that they can roost there instead of on the roof. Some of my chickens have always preferred sleeping outside on some large tree branches I have propped up instead of inside the coop which they mainly use for egg laying. If you live in a warm climate like I do, they may just enjoy the breeze at night.

I would start closing the coop at night if I were you.....chicken wire has holes large enough for weasels to slip through, and raccoons can reach their hands through it and grab chickens. It's also easily bitten through by raccoons and foxes.

 

[Chikibabymom]

I would start closing the coop at night if I were you.....chicken wire has holes large enough for weasels to slip through, and raccoons can reach their hands through it and grab chickens. It's also easily bitten through by raccoons and foxes.

We have two dogs that alert us and chase away stray cats since we live in the city and usually don’t encounter anything more than cats. I do plan to remodel and hopefully make a bigger coop once we expand our flock which will definitely have more safety measures since anything is possible. Thank you for your help and concern!