Coop bedding

[MeredithLindsay]

I’m currently using pine shavings in my coop of four chickens. It’s really hard to scoop out poop though. What do you use as bedding in your coop that makes daily-ish poop scooping easy??

 

[nuthatched]

If they're pooping in their nest boxes, that's an issue. They aren't supposed to do that. Is there even roost space for all of them? Is there a roost right above the boxes?

 

[CluckerFamily]

Are you scooping the poop off the floor daily or are they pooping in the nesting boxes?
I don’t scoop daily. I do the deep litter method for my coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

I never scoop poop. It's not necessary if you have enough space in the coop and are using enough depth of bedding. I have enough to do with work, housework, and my other activities without adding another daily chore.

I use deep bedding in my coop, adding annother couple inches of shavings every week or two (according to the weather), then I clean it all out after anywhere from 6-12 weeks depending on the circumstances.

Because the thick bedding dries the poop out completely it's odor-free. Occasionally I get a little crusted poop under the roost. I toss a little scratch into the coop and the chickens turn the bedding for me but if they don't do an adequate job I mix it up with my manure fork.

I last changed the bedding in my coop on December 1st and I'm anticipating doing it again around Valentine's Day since the bedding is now as deep as I can pile it without it spilling out the access door and invading the nextboxes.

 

[DobieLover]

What do you use as bedding in your coop that makes daily-ish poop scooping easy??

Hemp and/or pine shavings. I clean the coop once a year in the spring.
I use poop boards and scoop them daily. Takes about 6 minutes for 30 birds.

 

[MeredithLindsay]

Thanks! They are not pooping in the nesting boxes and I am attempting deep litter I just am new and wasn’t sure if I was missing a secret poop method
I love the poop board. I may give that a shot.

 

[Sally PB]

Put poop boards under the roosts. They poop the most at night, so most of the poop is under the roost. There's a product called "sweet PDZ" that you can put on the board that will absorb moisture, help make the clumps easy to scoop, and cut the poop smell.

I have pine shavings and hemp. Their roost is too low to have a poop board under it and still have room for them to walk under that. (I had an unrelated reason for lowering the roost.) Most of the poop is in piles under the roost, and I scoop it up with a kitty litter scoop. I spend about 5-10 minutes cleaning up poop every day. I have added more shavings, but have yet to clean out the whole pile and start over. The bedding is about 6" deep. I never smell any ammonia-poop smell unless someone has dropped a fresh cecal poop.

 

[IamRainey]

I use pine shavings for my small flock too. Every few weeks I go in with a long sturdy forked branch and stir things up under the roosts where it collects. I can pretty much do that without entering the coop. Every 4-6 months I open a new bale of shavings to top it all.

When it gets too deep I push about half of it out the pop door into the run below.

If my hens want to roost in a nesting box or if they s__t out an egg I don't consider it much of a problem. I've got 3 boxes so there's always an empty one for any girl who needs to lay. I just grab whatever wet poo from my top-opening boxes and toss it into the chicken yard.

Yes, I've gotten salmonella touching poo with my bare hands. It wasn't fun but, having done that, I doubt I'll ever be bothered by it again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks! They are not pooping in the nesting boxes and I am attempting deep litter I just am new and wasn’t sure if I was missing a secret poop method
I love the poop board. I may give that a shot.

Are you doing actual deep litter (composting system, usually on dirt), or deep bedding (thick, dry litter on top of a wood/concrete floor)? If deep litter, you want them to poop on the floor, so it can compost with the rest of the materials.

I don't do poop boards and do scoop daily under the roost. For the under roost area, I use hemp as I find that to be easy to sift through with a cat litter scoop.

 

[Aunt Tat]

Imagine my frustration if I had tried to deep litter in a raised bed with a wood floor!!!!


I'd like to use hemp in the coop, probably will last longer and then do deep compost in the run...won't have to clean it out as often and will have better success with deep littering.

Thankyou Rosemarythyme!