How do I keep the coop and run clean??

[mechanic57]

I built a litter box under the roosting bar and filled it with PDZ so the birds poo lands in that. It keeps the smell down which keeps the flies down. It takes 5 or 6 of the 25 pound bags to fill the box which is 8 feet long and maybe 30 inches wide. I have about 20 birds in this coop. I use a cat litter scoop and bucket once a week to sift out the clumps and toss them on the compost pile. Takes about 10 minutes to do thats it. They are outside all day so it doesn't build up too much in the coop this time of year. I keep a bag or 2 extra on hand to top off the PDZ as it does slowly get low, and I completely replace the PDZ (along with the pine shavings on the floor) in the spring since they spend more time in the coop in the winter.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Eh some poop on the wall shouldn't kill you (might drive you crazy, but doesn't impact the birds any). Don't expect to have a spotless coop... it's not realistic and trying to make it "clean" will drive you bananas. If poop is getting on roosts, ramps, ladders, then the placement of those items is probably the issue. If I do get poop on anything I just scrape it off. Otherwise I do a spot clean under roosts in the morning, and coop gets cleaned out twice a year with a rake and broom.

I use deep litter in the run so that takes care of itself for the most part. I do surface clean obvious poops for use in my compost bin and so we don't step on them. Every so often I add more materials, or take some away, or use a rake/hoe to break it up a bit and even it out, but otherwise it's very low maintenance.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you have an odor issue you should look into using deep bedding in the coop -- plenty of shavings or other such material to absorb liquids so that the poop dries out quickly. But first, look at your ventilation.

Both heat and ammonia rise so it's critical to have ventilation at the highest part of the coop. Here in the steamy southeast I can't say enough about how great it is to have a monitor roof. Even with my coop in direct sun today the temperature inside was only slightly higher than the outside and I've never had any odor problems.

In the run you should consider the Deep Litter Method -- a form of cold composting that turns chicken poop and any compost "browns" (high carbon material to react with the high nitrogen poop), into garden gold.

You'll get the best results from a mix of different materials and textures -- wood chips, wood shavings, straw, pine straw, fall leaves, etc. -- because that will prevent the packing and matting that can create slimy, stinky anaerobic pockets.