Cleaning the coop.

[aart]

Wonders if the blow torch method is how 'burn the whole coop when you have mites' method(Oh, I meant to do that) actually started?
But I've never had roost mites(knock wood).
Would saturate all cracks and crevices with permethrin spray if I did.


I never use any liquids to clean coop, tho I do use water to clean outside of a few windows that are tipped open to the outside all summer once I close them in fall.

This is how I 'clean':
-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 twice a year, old shavings added to run.

-Runs have semi-deep litter, never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials as needed.

-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 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 5 years.

 

[townchicks]

I have only a small coop, with 3 hens, so it is pretty easy for me. I have a poop tray under the roost, with PDZ in it so I can scoop out the poops daily. the rest is filled with pine shavings which stay pretty clean since the hen are only in the coop to sleep and lay. Any stray poop in the shavings can be scooped out when I do the poop tray. They've only been in this coop for a few months, so I've yet to do a major clean, but I painted the inside to help keep mites down, and so I can hose it out. I plan to do this soon, before the weather turns cold, and again in late spring, as it gets warmer. We'll see if this is enough.

 

[SW31]

I have an Omlet chicken house. This morning I took the roosting bar out and hosed ( using the jet setting) it down to get the poo off. I then slid out the poop board underneath, took it to the edge of the garden, next to the field, banged it down a couple of times to get most of the poo off. Then I hosed that down as well to clean everything else off. I then slid the door to the nesting box closed and quickly hosed out the inside of the roosting area. It took less then ten minutes as I do this almost daily. Every now and again OH uses the Karcher to deep clean the roosting bar and poop board.
I clean out the nesting box on a quarterly basis; when I do this I go around the whole thing with poultry cleaner.
Under the chicken house is earth which has few poos. They have a large grassed run but do poo usually in the same places. When the weather is warm I hose it all to break the poos down but it is a problem in winter. Any suggestions would help.

 

[jreardon1918]

I must be a slug. Poop boards with pdz scooped weekly. And today is the day. Inside pine shavings replaced spring and fall. Every few months the shavings in the nest boxes moved into coop floor. Outdoor run for the first time will remove deep bedding to put on a new vegetable garden. This seems to work. No smell. Productive hens.

 

[aart]

I must be a slug. Poop boards with pdz scooped weekly

Weeelll...depends on your board to bird ratio.
I just find daily small tasks work better for me then less frequent bigger tasks.
Plus I'm retired.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's always fun to read this type of thread to see how many different ways we approach these things. We are all unique so the answer will be different for us. Some of the factors I think are important are what your coop looks like, your chicken density, how much time your chickens actually spend in the coop, rural or urban, and your management techniques.

My normal breeding/laying flock is one rooster and 6 to 8 hens but during the season I may have 40 or more chickens of various ages sleeping in there. The coop is 8' x 12' but with my room outside and climate they spend practically all day every day outside. With my outside room I don't need to clean the run.

I use droppings boards under the roosts to collect that poop build-up and put it on my compost pile. If chicken density is pretty low and the weather is dry I may scrape my droppings board one every six weeks. With high density and humid weather that may be every week. If it ever starts to smell I waited too long. Over the years I've learned what long enough is.

My coop is on the ground with a dirt floor but I filled it in some with dirt so outside water does not get inside. I use wood shavings for bedding. It is well ventilated and stays pretty dry. It is so dry the poop and shavings do mot compost in place so it is not the deep litter method. I clean out the bedding once every three or four years in the fall and dump that on my garden. It will be decomposed by planting time in the spring. I don't empty it because I have to, I just want that stuff in my garden. My garden would probably be better off if I did that annually but I use a lot of compost from the droppings board scrapings and garden wastes. It works for me.

About the only time I clean out a nest is when a broody hen hatches in there or an egg breaks. I cut long grass from places I don't mow and dry that. That's my bedding for nests.

I have never had an issue with mites, lice, or worms. It is probably a matter of time, they are out there. I don't treat unless i have a reason to treat and feel that their immune systems are stronger if I don't treat unnecessarily and do not try to keep them in a sterile environment. If my experiences were different some of my opinions could change.