how aften do you clean your coop

[AnimalMommy]

Umm..I clean every morning.

I have a bare ground coop covered with hay right now so I am really freaky about cleanliness. I rake out coop every morning and then cover it with fresh hay. My babies are about 15 weeks old right now.

 

[LizzyJo]

Quote:
For roosts I use 2 x 4s that are not attached to anything, but fit into brackets so they left in and out easily.

I wipe them down with a bleach solution and let them dry thoroughly.


Here is a picture of the galvinized mounting bracket.

 

[LizzyJo]

Early this morning I asked what PDS is, and no one has told me yet!

 

[mtnhomechick]

I used to use bleach. Then I read on Estes Hatchery website to NEVER use bleach. So, just to be on the safe side I don't. Also, a farmer I know says bleach can make them sterile.

I pressure wash the feeders and waters which it very effective and then I wash them in dawn dish soap.

I have poop boards installed under the perches and I scrape them every other day with a grill scraper, which hugely cuts down on poop in the coop.

I have two coops, two enclosed runs and an open topped day run. I let my nose be the judge of when to clean........usually about 6 times per year.

 

[txchickie]

Umm...once every few weeks? If that? LOL

But since our birds free-range 100% of the time and go to the trees at night, really the only thing I have to clean is my back porch--where they all hang out in the mornings waiting for me to give them breakfast

I hose off the porch every day, along with my outdoor chairs and tables. They stand on the backs of the chairs trying to see in the windows LOL.

They do wander in and out of the coop, and the nests are in there so it does get a little messy, but not bad at all. My silkie pens and baby guinea pens get raked out once a week or so. If I had to clean the coop every day I would seriously re-think having chickens.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
Thank you! Wow, I was wondering if there was something wrong with me...
I clean mine twice a year, in the fall and in the spring. I use the deep litter method and I only rake around if I am in the mood. The chickens do it for me.
I do clean out the nest boxes if they poop in them and add new shavings as needed.
I scrape off the roosts if it gets too much (I use a paint scraper)
The waterer gets washed out and scrubbed as needed, usually 2-3 times a week when I fill them back up. (I have three 7 gallon waterers so they never run out) I take an empty one, hose it down, add soap, scrub, rinse and fill.
I never clean their feeder, it is never dirty.
The birds have never been sick (other than the batch of cocci I got with the hatchery chicks I bought) Not bumblefoot, respitory problems or eye problems and the coop does not smell or have flies.
They only free range when I can supervise although they have a big run.
We are very dry here though, so I am sure that helps alot toward no smell.
When I do clean it out, then all the litter goes into a big pile and composts naturally until spring then I dig it into the soil before I plant.

 

[consdrs]

OMG...

I just found out I am a clean freak... say it isn't so...

I have 17 chickens 9 hens and 7 pullets. two coops. both have sand runs. one coop has a sand floor. the other will the next time for a clean out.

I have droppings boards and scrape them daily in BOTH coops. then kitty litter scoop both runs and the free range area. daily.
I do the toss everything scrub and presser wash everything about every 3-4 months.

My birds spend little time in their coops. with an automatic door it keeps your coop soooo much cleaner. roost, floor and out the door.

you would be surprised the amount of ppl who want chicken poo. Last week I bagged up all the chicken poo from the last 3 months (omg the smell....) I keep it in a garbage can. that is where I toss all the poo from the daily scrapings. I put it in old feed bags, put it on craigs list and it was gone in 2 hrs. it was like 200 lbs! I took it to the curb on a hand truck!

Connie (OCD chicken coop cleaner)

 

[Germaine_11.20]

You may be a clean freak, but I feel like a slob. I know my method works for me, but I am feeling very bad right now.
What is strange though is the coop really isn't dirty. It must be the dry weather.

 

[Dbl T in CO]

I must not be normal either. I clean my coop once a month or so but never thought it needed to be power washed!!

My birds free range on pasture daily. They can’t wait to get the heck away from the coop in the morning. They go back during the day only to lay. Needless to say, the coop does not get very dirty.

I just lay down fresh straw when I clean. My girls will always come to investigate to see what I’m doing, and then go back to their daily foraging for bugs and grass. They really do have a good life.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We have 75 chickens, and clean the coop spring and fall down to the floor. In the meantime, it gets some Stall Dry and fluffed occasionally or if I see a damp spot or smell ammonia. 9 months out of the year, the chickens only go in to lay eggs or sleep, so don't have to do much. In the winter, I probably fluff and add Stall Dry and shavings once a week. We also have six full-sized house windows in our coop that stay open 9 months a year as well as roof vents, so there's lots of air movement. The bedding gets to be about 10" high before it gets cleaned out. We have no problems with odor or wetness.

Nest boxes, however, get poop cleaned out of them every day and fresh shavings once a week.

When we clean out, we pile the shavings and let them rot for at least a year. I'm happier with two years. Then it goes on the garden. So basically, it works like this: Fall, spread shavings from at least a year ago on the garden. Til Clean the chicken coop and put the shavings where the old shavings pile was. Spring, clean the coop and pile the new shavings on the ground beside the pile from Fall. Put the Fall shavings on top of that pile. Rinse, repeat.