Coop cleaning

[MikeTheGardener]

How often do you clean out your coop? i.e. replace the pine shavings, scrub everything down etc.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I am cleaning it every month and we use hay and we exchange it every two weeks for the clean hay. I am kind obsessive about them having clean living space, then again i just put a fan outside because its might be alittle to hot for my hens.

 

[TalkALittle]

I scrape and scrub once a year in the spring. Shavings get removed at the start of every season and get dumped in the run. Droppings tray gets sifted daily and those poops get tossed in the compost bin.

Cobwebs get removed daily--usually by my face and hair.

 

[FrizzlesRule]

I do some cleaning everyday. Never let poop build up. Use pine shavings and hay for bedding. Clean poop out every morning and add new bedding. Wipe down windows and walls to get rid of dust and cobwebs. It may sound like alot of work, but really isn't. It takes about 15 minutes including feeding and watering. I usually replace or refill waterers everyday.

 

[MikeTheGardener]

Someone had suggested I put a fan in there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The answer will vary tremendously for us because we all have different style coops, different poop loads, different tolerances, even weather can play a part.

I have a big walk-in coop with a dirt floor that stays pretty dry. My chicken density isn’t normally that high plus I use a dropping board to further reduce poop load. I clean the droppings board off as required, sometimes after a week, sometimes I can go four weeks. I never dust or remove cobwebs as long as they stay out of my way. Those spiders are not poisonous and if they get careless the chickens get some free protein. The spiders help keep other pests down, like flies or mosquitoes.

I never have to remove the shavings as it doesn’t stink or get wet. I have a lot of outside space and a favorable climate so the chickens don’t hang out inside and increase poop load that much. I remove the shavings once every three or four years in the Fall, not because I need to but because I want that stuff in my garden. The pure stuff from the droppings board really helps my compost.

Others clean in different ways much more often than me. We are all unique with unique set-ups and tolerances. Good luck on finding yours.

 

[beginnergirl]

I have been picking up poop everyday from my wood shavings in the coop. Takes a minute and it goes into my compost pile. There is no smell.

I haven't figured out how to do that with straw in the run so am changing it out every few weeks or if it gets wet. Still sexing if I will stay with straw.

 

[barneveldrerman]

Someone had suggested I put a fan in there.

if it gets hot where you live then i would put a fan, otherwise I wouldn't.

I clean my coop everyday I do the windows, clean out the poop, fill the waterers. Like frizzlesrule said it only takes about 15 min each day. When I deep clean I use a vinigar and water solution to help disinfect it.



Hope this helped!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

The high for this week is 100 and i have winter tolerent birds they suffer in summer poor girls. I even some days turn on the sprinkler just for them to play in they enjoy that as well. I am in texas and it can be hot and its a dry heat so that makes it horrible for animals.

 

[aart]

I use a droppings board too, which gets cleaned of regularly every other day or so.
Dry pine shavings a couple inches deep on vinyl covered floor, totally replace shavings once a year......immediately remove any shavings that get wet due to spilled water.

I never scrub anything with any liquid, damp makes for stink and growing things you don't want growing.
Did take the shop vac to the storage part of the shed this summer, needed to do some work on the structure and it was very thick with dust after 2 years.