Cold Weather Cleaning Tip - Opinions Wanted Please!

[WonderChicken]

My latest inventive idea came after realizing the other day that one can not scrape frozen chicken poo from the coop floor and knowing that it will soon be where there are weeks at a time where it does not get above the freezing point I had to do something different. So... I lined the coop floor upstairs and downstairs with cardboard.

This has many benefits:

1) It insulates the floor.
2) It absorbs the liquid out of the feces.
3) I will be able to pull out the cardboard and just throw it straight into the trash.
4) It will save me time in regular cleaning.
5) It will absorb any spilled water from the heated waterer keeping ice slicks from forming on the coop floor.
6) It is a free material available from local stores and grocers.
7) This smart solution to dealing with winter housekeeping and will keep the chicks healthier as I can change out the cardboard frequently to avoid buildup in between regular coop cleanings over the winter.

My coop is 4 x 4 x 6' ?" with two levels. Upstairs is roost. Downstairs is heated waterer and nesting box. Feeder is in covered run. I interlinked the flaps on the boxes I used so they do not shift. Duct tape would work in instances that I didn't have boxes that could do that.

I think this will work well in small to medium coops. Might be feasible in larger, but would obviously require more cardboard.

I appreciate all opinions to the pros and cons of this method. Thanks

 

[Mrs. K]

I use cardboard on my north wall as insulation. I have deep hay on the floor, and clean it out periodically, add new hay.

Don't throw out the cardboard, put in compost pile.

Mrs.K

 

[WonderChicken]

I don't have a compost pile at this time, but that is a good idea. Using cardboard as your insulation is a great idea as well. Thanks for the idea

 

[Grey's]

Smart idea, I didn't have time to put down some cushion floor where we come into the coop and its wood and looks awful, so cardboard would be great!

 

[Moabite]

Pooppy cardboard would make great earthworm food. I like the idea. BTW, my entire garden is a compost pile until planting time. I could just lay it down, and rake some compost on top of it. Maybe water it in, but what's the rush.

 

[Moabite]

I don't seem to have trouble with my coop getting poopy. I've got about 3 to 6 inches of sawdust and pine shavings in the coop, and sand in the run. I have to sift the sand about every two to three weeks, but even then it doesn't seem bad. Even under the roost, I don't notice any build up. It has been about a month since I tidied the litter, and there was no ammonia smell. I only have six hens. I'm guessing it is because the girls only roost and lay eggs in the coop, the rest of the time they hang out down in the run. When I let them out on to the patio, they sure leave a mess though.

 

[WonderChicken]

Quote:
My coop floors are plywood both upstairs and downstairs. Each level is just a tad taller than 3 foot and only 4'w x 4'd so there is not alot of room for deep bedding. The upstairs roost is only 6" off the floor, so the small amount bedding that I could get into each level would have to be changed out often, so I figured it is best to just leave them bare. I scrape them out once a week and with just 6 birds it is easy and does not build up. This is where the cardboard idea came in. Mine come downstairs in the morning and don't go back up till evening so that makes quite the difference I'm sure ;o)