E-Z WAYS TO CLEAN COOPS

[chickenchic2]

Welcome. I have 10 red Sex Link Hens since October yarded in a barn with a 10 by 30 foot outside run. We love our girls, but geez are they mesy! I want to take the wooden ramp out This is the hardest to clean, even daily. They are not near a water source.
It is brought to them daily for drinking. Pressure washing it is not an option in winter.
Also on top of their nesting boxes they like to dirty. I have to scrape it every day, at times it hardens and is difficult to remove. This does prevent them from messing inside their nesting boxes. ANy input would be great. Thanks.

 

[crystal195655]

I am not very experienced with chickens yet, but I was wondering...you said they poo on top of the nesting boxes? Do you have a slanted roof on it? if not you might want to put a slanted roof that would make it difficult for them to stay on it...or put something on it that would discourage them from getting back up there.....as for cleaning, I am sure you will be getting lots of good advice from experienced chicken keepers on here and I willbe watching closly so that I can gain some insight from your post...thanks and good luck

 

[Geckochick]

We put a slanted roof, as PP suggested on top of our nesting boxes (basically, it triangulates the top of the box and the coop wall) so the girls cannot sit on top of the nesting boxes. My DH built the coop so there are slats under the roost. Under that is a rectangular compartment, which he concreted the bottom. We... ok, he (hey, I do everything else for these birds) scrapes the poop off the slates into this compartment from time to time. When there is a good quantity, he scrapes it out with a hoe and throws it into the compost. Ideally, there would be an exterior exit for that compartment, but it exits into the barn, which is a bit of a PITA.

 

[Oneacre Homestead]

After having chickens for a few years, I am redesigning my coop to have something like crystal described. I am going to put the roosts over a collector, A piece of sheet metal waist high, that will have door to the outside. Then I will wait until there is a good amount and pull up my wheelbarrow or trash can and get the poop for my compost bin and scrape it out at waist level. Instead of slats over the collector and under the roosts I was thinking wire- but it cannot have tiny spaces or the poop
Will not go through. Maybe like 2x2 squares? Or even 2x4- Once it tried 1 inch chicken wire and it did not work at all!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If you sprinkle some sweet PDZ on top of the nest boxes it helps when you want to scrape them off (I have to do this too). You can get it at the feed store...it is a horse stall refresher. They have a website with chicken coop recommendations if you are interested. I use the powder, not the granules.