Hello from Illinois

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Edudavidne

In the Brooder
Mar 21, 2025
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I'm new to raising chickens although I grew up working on a farm and have raised various other livestock. I also have beehives and a small number of honeybees which produce honey which I sell as well as a number of bees waxproducts from candles to lip balm and body lotion.

I am planning to start a flock this June with 6 hens. I have three Sunnyside Rainbow Egger pullets and three Commercial Brown Layer pullets ordered through our local feed supply store. I recently purchased a coop which is a 6x6 walk in shed with nest boxes accessible from outside and an automatic powered door. I am getting ready to build some roosts and am looking for some best practices to construct and install the best roosts and setup I can to minimize manure build up and keep the coop as clean as possible on a regular basis.
 
Hiya there, and welcome to BYC! :frow

What we've used for many years is horse bedding pellets for the coop, and also in recent years started using them in our brooders.

For the coop, they are great for keeping moisture and smell down as they dry out the poop. We only clean the coop in the spring. By that time, about 75% of the pellets are now sawdust. We haul that all out and put around trees, in the garden, some in the compost bins, etc. For the brooders, I have to stir them every few days as their little feet don't move them around like the ones in the coop do.

As for roosts, one thing to know is most chickens will go for the highest one. You don't want your nest boxes to get perched on or pooped on unless you're raising silkies, as that's all ours use for perching. There we use stall refresher to keep the poop dry and easier to clean off. Distance from the walls and between other perches is suggested to be 18" apart.

Good luck! We're glad you're here!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.

Poop boards.
Scoop daily with a cat litter scoop into an old cat litter bucket. Dump into compost when full.
Repeat.
coffee grounds on boards.png
 

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