Help with chicken shed maintenance

[MoonSh1ne]

So, to keep the long story short, back around August of last year I got a 10 x 12 shed for my chickens to keep them safe from predators at night.
I've noticed that keeping the shed cleaned is much harder than when I had just tiny houses in their pen.
I have 18 chickens exactly but they have the terrible habit of moving all their bedding to the very back of the shed (where they lay their eggs and around their roosts), so the other front half of the shed is always bare wood that they keep coating in dirt, poo, and layers of god knows what else.
This yucky layer is so hard to clean up and I have to use a shovel to scrape it off slowly but I'm really worried that this will damage / weaken the wood of their shed.
Had anybody run into any similar issues and if so, how did you fix this problem?

 

[DobieLover]

So, to keep the long story short, back around August of last year I got a 10 x 12 shed for my chickens to keep them safe from predators at night.
I've noticed that keeping the shed cleaned is much harder than when I had just tiny houses in their pen.
I have 18 chickens exactly but they have the terrible habit of moving all their bedding to the very back of the shed (where they lay their eggs and around their roosts), so the other front half of the shed is always bare wood that they keep coating in dirt, poo, and layers of god knows what else.
This yucky layer is so hard to clean up and I have to use a shovel to scrape it off slowly but I'm really worried that this will damage / weaken the wood of their shed.
Had anybody run into any similar issues and if so, how did you fix this problem?

How large is their run?
Where are their nest boxes?
Can you post some pictures of your coop?

 

[MoonSh1ne]

Is a run the same as a pen ? They free range unless I'm not home (such as grocery shopping or work). If I'm not around then they stay in a pen until I can get home. Pen is not currently attached to their shed and it's an 8 x 8 pen. Both pen and shed are side by side however. They have a small make shift house in their pen that they can lay eggs in if needed (though my girls are great about laying in the shed in the morning). I'm not sure about the size of the house :/
Its maybe an enough for 3 or 4 full sized hens to sleep in at night if needed.
They do not have nesting boxes in the shed since they kinda made two nesting areas in corners of the back of the shedwhere the girls lay their eggs every day

 

[rosemarythyme]

What kind of bedding do you use? Not unusual for chickens to kick it around a little bit. How thick is the bedding?

Any particular reason you didn't apply any sort of protection to the floor? Deck paint, Black Jack, linoleum, etc... something to protect the wood from damage and moisture. I use Black Jack and it's no issue scraping it clean in spots that need it (dried poop comes right off), otherwise it just needs a sweep or rake out.

 

[aart]

@MoonSh1ne Pics of your coop, inside and out, would help immensely here.

Had anybody run into any similar issues and if so, how did you fix this problem?

I stir it up and smooth it out almost daily.....
What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture
-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).
There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 5 years.

 

[MoonSh1ne]

This is what I'm working with :/

@RosemaryI never thought to use painting on the inside honestly, lmao. I was just in a hurry to get the chickens moved from the pen to the shed so they would sleep safely. I used fine pine shavings. It's the Tractor Supply brand if that helps any. I wanna say that they layer is around 2 or 3 inches deep ? I'm not sure exactly :/
Does the Black Jack paint dry fast ? I can try to find some in stores tomorrow and paint the floor with it when I clean tomorrow.

@aartWould putting a layer of sand help under my roost boards ? They seem to poop there the most during the night. Having to do a cleaning like yours would be amazing XD
Unfortunately I clean mine every month, like a total top to bottom clean and it's so tiring and only lasts until my hens go back into after I'm done to destroy my cleaning job.

You both have way more experience than I do at this though, so I appreciate the help XD
I feel like I've gotten in over my head when I decided to get this shed for the chickens. I have no idea what I'm doing right or wrong with cleaning it
Hopefully these two pictures will give you both a good idea of what I'm dealing with and I can get some tips to help me with tomorrow's cleaning

 

[MoonSh1ne]

Also idk if this helps any but when having the shed built, I got them to paint the outside with this weatherproof and pest proof coating of paint and The inside of the shed has this roofing that was suppose to help keep the shed 10 degrees cooler inside. I think both of those have about a 3 year warranty?

 

[rosemarythyme]

This is what I'm working with :/

@RosemaryI never thought to use painting on the inside honestly, lmao. I was just in a hurry to get the chickens moved from the pen to the shed so they would sleep safely. I used fine pine shavings. It's the Tractor Supply brand if that helps any. I wanna say that they layer is around 2 or 3 inches deep ? I'm not sure exactly :/
Does the Black Jack paint dry fast ? I can try to find some in stores tomorrow and paint the floor with it when I clean tomorrow.

In your case it might be easier to apply a flooring (scrap vinyl/linoleum) but if you're interested in the Black Jack, it's actually a rubberized compound that you paint on, instead of a paint. It doesn't cure fast but can surface dry fairly quickly especially if weather/temps are favorable (above 70 degrees, no rain). So in your case I would try to apply a thin coat early as possible in the day, then keep the chickens out of the coop the whole day. Hopefully it'll be semi-dry enough for you to toss a little bit of bedding in the roost area (to catch any poops for a few days). Give it a few days to cure, then apply a second thin coat early in the day, keep chickens out, thin layer of bedding etc. Once it fully cures you can layer on bedding.

The benefit of it is that it seals up small crevices/cracks in the wood, is waterproof, and seems to tolerate scraping and raking pretty well (I've used a metal rake, paint scraper, shovel, without damaging the floor).

Also I think you could use more bedding. I get a good 3-4" or so in there. The chickens will kick it around but I just kick it back into place. A very simple way to keep it from spilling out the human door is a wood board across the doorway (I think I use a 1x6) held in place with some bricks.

 

[David61]

You need to have the roost board run along the walls one foot out and vinyl linoleum covered poop boards 24" wide under the roost. The nest boxes under the poop boards. Like a kitchen counter and cabinets. I don't use the fine pine shavings. The flake works better for me.

 

[aart]

Would putting a layer of sand help under my roost boards ?

Roosts are one thing, the poop boards another.


Here's some posts about it, they're kind of old, but changes are noted.
...and the threads these posts are in has a ton of examples of poop boards.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-111#post-13179595
Updates:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-178#post-18966048

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/...ch-x-9-inch-mesh-drawer-organizer-silver.html