How can I make coop cleaning easier?

[citychicks99]

I asked my dad to help me build a roost for the chickens and he built this box for them. Everyday, I have to scrape poop from the top and the inside, move the two stools on the bottom, pull out the two drawers and scoop out poop. Poop also gets on the floor and behind the box most days. It takes me 15-30 minutes each day. I'd like to cut down on time. I was trying to save money before when I was using pine shavings. I'm using a mixture of sweet PDZ and other powdery things on the bottom that still take up money and now time. I'm not adept at using power tools and I don't want to ask my dad for help anymore because he never listens. What are some small easy changes I can make to save on time?

 

[nuthatched]

It's a nice box, but I'd just remove it and the dog crate, paint or use a piece of scrap linoleum on the floor and use deep litter like leaves or straw and just put a 2x4 stud across those two studs on the side of the building for a roost.
Or accept that there will be poop and clean once a week instead.

 

[citychicks99]

It's a nice box, but I'd just remove it and the dog crate, paint or use a piece of scrap linoleum on the floor and use deep litter like leaves or straw and just put a 2x4 stud across those two studs on the side of the building for a roost.
Or accept that there will be poop and clean once a week instead.

I've been cleaning every day. I saw the poo grow mold when I left it for a few days when I didn't use anything. I've been using a mixture of sweet pdz, diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay, and dolomite lime in the drawers. Would that help keep the poo dry enough until I can get to it on the weekends? Or would soil be better?

 

[Shadrach]

I've been cleaning every day. I saw the poo grow mold when I left it for a few days when I didn't use anything. I've been using a mixture of sweet pdz, diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay, and dolomite lime in the drawers. Would that help keep the poo dry enough until I can get to it on the weekends? Or would soil be better?

Keep the bentonite clay mixed with soil and ditch the rest.
Daily cleaning is a good thing. Look at the poop each day, it can tell you a lot about your chickens health.

I can't see what if any ventilation there is in the main shed. Proper air flow will help keep the chickens healthy and reduce odours.

 

[nuthatched]

I've been cleaning every day. I saw the poo grow mold when I left it for a few days when I didn't use anything. I've been using a mixture of sweet pdz, diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay, and dolomite lime in the drawers. Would that help keep the poo dry enough until I can get to it on the weekends? Or would soil be better?

You need an absorbent material to absorb the moisture, like straw, leaves, wood chips etc. plain old dirt works too. Diotomatious Earth should not be used anywhere you or your chickens can breath it, it can cause respiratory problems.
It should dry out before it molds, do you vents in that shed?

 

[3KillerBs]

Is that little box their housing?

The best way to reduce cleaning is to give your chickens plenty of space to live in. The usual guidelines are,

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Giving chickens adequate room in their coop minimizes cleaning because they spread their poop over more area instead of concentrating it in a confined space.

 

[citychicks99]

Is that little box their housing?

The best way to reduce cleaning is to give your chickens plenty of space to live in. The usual guidelines are,

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Giving chickens adequate room in their coop minimizes cleaning because they spread their poop over more area instead of concentrating it in a confined space.

My dad built it for them to sleep in but they like to sleep on top of it, except for one chicken who likes to sleep on the bottom. I asked my dad to just put a bar across the studs for a simple roosting bar but he wanted to build something I guess. Now I feel bad not using it because he spent so much time and money on it. I use the dog cage so the non RIRs can peacefully eat their food without being bullied away by the RIRs.

Keep the bentonite clay mixed with soil and ditch the rest.
Daily cleaning is a good thing. Look at the poop each day, it can tell you a lot about your chickens health.

I can't see what if any ventilation there is in the main shed. Proper air flow will help keep the chickens healthy and reduce odours.

Thanks, I'll just do that when I run out of the other stuff.

Not sure about ventilation. My brother built the shed. It's pretty big. Maybe 50 square feet. We leave the door open in the day time and cut out some holes for them in the door.

 

[3KillerBs]

My dad built it for them to sleep in but they like to sleep on top of it, except for one chicken who likes to sleep on the bottom. I asked my dad to just put a bar across the studs for a simple roosting bar but he wanted to build something I guess. Now I feel bad not using it because he spent so much time and money on it.

Chickens tend to prefer to roost up high.

I'm a fan of Deep Litter and Deep Bedding, but some people like to use what's called a "poop board" under their roosts. You can search for threads on that.

This is my article on Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Not sure about ventilation. My brother built the shed. It's pretty big. Maybe 50 square feet. We leave the door open in the day time and cut out some holes for them in the door.

And my article on ventilation. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[RojoMarz]

If you add a solid floor of some type on the top, add side rails and a simple roost, you would have a nice poop board setup. The underneath area makes for a great isolation area.

Here is a picture of my poop board setup. The bottom area was caged off and the ramp was added as they didn't like the ladder.

 

[Aunt Angus]

If you add a solid floor of some type on the top, add side rails and a simple roost, you would have a nice poop board setup. The underneath area makes for a great isolation area.

Here is a picture of my poop board setup. The bottom area was caged off and the ramp was added as they didn't like the ladder.

Exactly what I was going to suggest.