Cleaning the poop, uh, I mean coop!

[En Plein Air Farms]

This is said with kindness not snarky, but I'd sell the chickens. If You want to keep the chicken under those terms, call them your own and take the stress out of the equation, life is too short.

I have nine chickens and scrape down their roosting board into a bucket every third day or so, takes about three minutes. Once a week I do the floor which takes about five minutes. I don't use shaving inside at all.

We are all so different

and that is wonderful.

 

[justcelia]

Quote:
I should have noted this is for 2 Brahma hens.
Celia

 

[BWKatz]

Quote:
I should have noted this is for 2 Brahma hens.
Celia

Why don't u just move it?

 

[wildeflowers]

Quote:
I should have noted this is for 2 Brahma hens.
Celia

Why don't u just move it?

Or you could put sand in the run and rake it regularly.

As for my coop, I do a full clean out about once a month or so. When it was only 2 chickens, I could get away with raking out the poo and scraping it off the top of the nesting boxes and not replace the shavings as often. Now that there are 10, and they are making a giant mess out of the chick crumbles, I feel like it needs a clean more frequently. Gosh, those things produce an awful lot of poop.

 

[justcelia]

Quote:
I should have noted this is for 2 Brahma hens.
Celia

Why don't u just move it?

It has all the plastic fastened around it now for the winter. The whole yard is damp. It does seem to be drying up as the day goes by, inside the run and the whole yard.
I will try the sand or shavings. There is not a lot of poop. It has only been in this spot 3 days. (had bad weather forcasted).

Thanks for the ideas! I love BYC!

Celia
2 Brahma hens

 

[fluffychicksmomma]

Not sure why you would suggest that I sell the chickens. They are no problem for me, I just want to make sure I am having daughter clean the coop often enough. I think the chickens are quite cute and interesting. I just don't want anymore "pets" for myself. We have 5 horses, 2 dogs and have had rats and birds and fish. Daughter already feeds the horses every morning and night, scoops a ton of horse poop and can buck hay, so if she wants some pet chickens, I'm okay ith that, just want to make sure they are cared cared for properly, and don't know a lot about them yet. It helps to hear what other people do. : )

 

[Judy]

Fluffychicksmomma:

Well, your thread kind of got hijacked there. You said something about ammonia smell, but it was not clear whether you actually have this, or are just concerned about it. If you smell ammonia, the problem is not a clean coop but inadequate ventilation. That is a serious problem.

I haven't cleaned my coop in nearly 4 years, not in the sense of removing all the litter and replacing it. I leave the poop alone and add pine shavings as needed. There are about as many ways to approach a clean coop as there are people with chickens.

If you have ever smelled ammonia, please read this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

 

[fluffychicksmomma]

Oh, okay. No, I have never smelled ammonia, I was just worried about it becasue of what I have read, and my daughter said she has heard an occasional sneeze, so I got a little worried, and wanted to make sure the coop is clean enough. From what everyone has said, I think it is, although I think we should use more shavings than we are, and maybe put some hay under the shavings, mostly because its so cold at night, and I think a little extra bedding will help with warmth. : )

 

[Lesa]

Don't want to scare you- but I have never heard a chicken sneeze... I would keep a close eye on that. If they have a roosting area, she might like to have something underneath to catch the poop. It seriously takes 2 minutes to clean it off...and the poop isn't mixed with the shavings.

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
This is very important. Get proactive about ending that cycle of disease and infection. Here's a link to a comprehensive discussion about proactive husbandry.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=401473&p=1