Cleaning Routine Brooder and Beyond

[Beekissed]

Takes all the enjoyment out of chickens if you have to clean and chore all the time.

After you've been at it for awhile you might find it more enjoyable to have a simpler routine that still yields desirable results.

Every year I work towards greater ergonomics so that if someone else should have to take over for any length of time and do my feeding/watering and coop maintenance that it's as easy and quick as possible~simple to explain, simple to do. Best to set up a system that can be done in that manner before you ever need it and one that pretty much runs itself for days on end.

 

[bustedchicks]

I have a 3x8x3 box for my 30 chicks(2 turkeys). I use rice hulls and haven't changed it in 3 weeks. However I do have 3 wire fan shells in there. on each is water dish and food dish. the other day I rearranged a few things. noticed under the fans was a big pile of food so I re moved the piece and let you hem feed on all the food they just throw everywhere.
where it was really poopy I just mixed in or turned the rise hulls and voila New rice hulls on top.

 

[cblakley0531]

I use pine shavings and change it about every 3-4 days or as needed if they seem extra messy haha! Usually when I give them treats that tend to be messy or might mold, then I'll change the bedding the same day I give them the messy treat. I give them clean water daily and refill their food daily I have 5 chicks.

 

[Loc20chick]

Takes all the enjoyment out of chickens if you have to clean and chore all the time.

After you've been at it for awhile you might find it more enjoyable to have a simpler routine that still yields desirable results.

Every year I work towards greater ergonomics so that if someone else should have to take over for any length of time and do my feeding/watering and coop maintenance that it's as easy and quick as possible~simple to explain, simple to do. Best to set up a system that can be done in that manner before you ever need it and one that pretty much runs itself for days on end

I would love to know what your routine is if you don't mind sharing. I'm currently trying to clean mine once every 10days and would love to make it even less.

 

[rc4u]

I clean mine every 3 days..and I tell ya with the burlap bags over the pine chips it is so easy to clean.. I have one extra to start and there are 4 cut op bags on the floor.. I take one up and replace it with the extra and shake it out over the garden and then sweep it with stiff broom and then go on to the next ect...it only takes 10 minutes and the poop sweeps off so easy... I like it...jeff

 

[Beekissed]

I would love to know what your routine is if you don't mind sharing. I'm currently trying to clean mine once every 10days and would love to make it even less.

A self cleaning, self digesting system....deep litter. For those who do not have any well cultivated deep litter from their adult bird coops, you can scoop a layer of soil from where these chicks will eventually be living out their days and lay that down in your brooder floor~you can place a sheet of plastic or tarp under all this for easy cleaning at the end, just lift and carry it out. This has two benefits...it inoculates your chicks with the environmental/soil based pathogens and molds they will need to form antibodies for at the time when they are best able to form these antibodies~the first two weeks of their lives. It also has microorganisms, tiny bugs and even worms that can work as a team to start breaking down fecal matter in the bedding.

Then add pine shavings or leaves on top of that..I like a mix of both. Then the chicks can poop all they want, scratch around in it to cover their own poops, eat natural grit from the soils as they also start the inoculating process. You don't have to ever clean this out...if you feel it is getting too much feces to the ratio of bedding matter, you merely add more bedding. It's like making poop lasagna and the microorganisms from the soils can rise up through the bedding materials and start the digesting process.

I also use nipple water buckets....easy to fill, never get dirt or debris in the water, holds large volume and also gives the chicks more things to do. No spilled or splashed water in the bedding to make messes. The nipples are incredibly cheap and easy to install in any little bucket you have around.






I also use easy to fill troughs that elevate the feed out of the bedding and that cannot be flipped or tipped over. This one took me about 5-10 min. to build and cost no money...just scraps of boards, some screws, a piece of fence wire and two zip ties. This one is about 18 in. long and 3 in. high.






Another wonderful secret to a brooder that has no smells, where feed is never wasted and where the feces break down very quickly into the bedding is the use of fermented feeds. It costs no money, has a laundry list of benefits to the chickens, you can use nearly half the feed you normally would feed and get twice the nutrition, and it's incredibly easy to implement.

My brooders are built from hay bales and take about 10 min. to break down and store away, no cleaning necessary at the end because I brood my chicks in one corner of the coop my adult flock uses and I also use the deep litter that is already in place there.

This one pictured below has a way more hay in it than I normally would use but I was using it to cover my heating pad brooder heater frame to create a little heated bunker for the chicks, but when using a heat lamp I just use the deep litter on the floor of the brooder.

 

[SusanPC]

Wow! Lots of ideas to use and all in one place. Thanks for the tips!

 

[sacchick]

Takes all the enjoyment out of chickens if you have to clean and chore all the time.

After you've been at it for awhile you might find it more enjoyable to have a simpler routine that still yields desirable results.

Every year I work towards greater ergonomics so that if someone else should have to take over for any length of time and do my feeding/watering and coop maintenance that it's as easy and quick as possible~simple to explain, simple to do. Best to set up a system that can be done in that manner before you ever need it and one that pretty much runs itself for days on end.

So I am 2 weeks into moving my 4 girls out of the house (Brooder) and into the Coop/Run, they are almost 6 weeks old.

I am SO GLAD I am using sand in my coop. It literally takes 5 seconds to scoop out ALL the poop. Sand pulls moisture so the poop is dry and scoops right up. I believe it is healthier as well because it is naturally less of a "host" to bacteria. I also have a chicken fountain waterer, and just finished my feeder....Cant get my pics to load right side up

Using all these great tools has made my clean and feed time is practically nothing which then gives me time to enjoy my morning coffee on weekend watching my girls have a good sun nap followed by a dust bath, now this is living!!!

 

[Beekissed]

So I am 2 weeks into moving my 4 girls out of the house (Brooder) and into the Coop/Run, they are almost 6 weeks old.

I am SO GLAD I am using sand in my coop. It literally takes 5 seconds to scoop out ALL the poop. Sand pulls moisture so the poop is dry and scoops right up. I believe it is healthier as well because it is naturally less of a "host" to bacteria. I also have a chicken fountain waterer, and just finished my feeder....Cant get my pics to load right side up

Using all these great tools has made my clean and feed time is practically nothing which then gives me time to enjoy my morning coffee on weekend watching my girls have a good sun nap followed by a dust bath, now this is living!!!

As time goes along you may find your sand "pulling moisture" gets to be a problem, as that moisture reservoir collects and holds moisture making it a lovely place for bacteria to grow, particularly in warm climates. A lot of folks who tried the sand loved it so much at first but found it to start smelling down the road and no way of getting that smell gone without cleaning all the sand out and replacing it often.

 

[sacchick]

I guess I will have to wait and see. I used sand in my indoor Brooder and it was awesome. I believe the reason I had zero issues with Pasty Butt or Coccidia was a combination of the sand and the Bruinsea heat plate. I kept it very clean because it was so easy to get all the poop out.

I made sure my coop has lots of ventilation as I live in a dry heat state that gets over 100 degrees in the summer. Because of the ease of cleaning with the sand I only have about 3 inches in the coop so I can easily turn it over to dry out. It has been pouring here my coop is dry inside, no condensation, and litter underneath is dry as well........It will be a good test