Fall cleaning before winterizing

[gmendoza]

Got chicken chores this weekend.

Got to clean out run and coop and get ready for winter with the deep litter meathod.Buying some roof tin at .99cents per linear ft.

Got some free watermelons to give to the birds this afternoon. They will be happy as clams.

What are your chicken chores????

 

[GoldenSparrow]

Lets see,
I have to clean the coops
clean the runs and tarp them
get another perch
Iam sure theres more?

 

[teach1rusl]

You know, I usually do a fall bedding toss out. But they really spend so little time indoors for 9 mos. straight that the bedding hasn't really got dirty (I use dropping boards). So I'm thinking I may leave it and just do a bedding toss early spring (because it DOES get pooped up over the winter months)...

 

[Marcymom3]

Our chicken coop is small since we only have 8 chickens, but we have a large run for them. My chicken chore this past weekend was to replenish the sand in the run. What the heck happened to all I put in there in June???

On Saturday I also put a tarp over the run. I read somewhere on here that if the sand is dry it keeps the odors down. Mine isn't too stinky to begin with, but thought I would do that to keep it dry. I was thinking about getting a dozen or so bales of straw or hay and stacking them around the run to keep the wind out. What do you do?

Also, hubs just made a waterer out of a 2 gallon pail and 3 water nipples.

 

[carladababe]

I've cleared out all the sand in the run and did the initial hose down. I plan on doing the same to the coop tomorrow while the girls are in the chicken tractor. I'm going to give both a scrubbing, then air dry since it's probably the last 80 degree day of the year. After everything looks bright and shining I'll replace the sand and shavings with new. Good thing I only have to do the big cleaning couple times a year, that was alot of work to remove all that old sand. Makes that routine replacing of the shavings a piece of cake. I have a tarp over the run but unless there is a way for the water to escape it weighs the top down. The sand around the edges always gets wet, so I replace as necessary. I'm thinking of taking the tarp down in the winter to avoid snow accummulation. I'm doing the same with bales of hay in an effort to insulate. Chores, chores, and more chores, but I love my chickens.