How do you clean your coop?

[Duck_life]

I have multiple coops, I think 6... much more needed in the future, so I was wondering how everyone cleans their coops and some simple ways to do it..? I use a paint scraper i think it's called to the the poop off the top and a hoe to get the hay out, there is this one tool also, I don't know what it's called but I can try and get a picture of it but it is basically a short version of a rake and it looks like teeth, it is short to. Anyways, what is best choice for bedding, (our straw got moldy most likely from it raining 24/7 here), how do you clean the coops, and what do you do with the used bedding?

 

[21hens-incharge]

With 6 coops I would put droppings boards under the roosts.

Those can be covered with pdz and the droppings sifted out daily or however often is needed. That can go directly into a compost pile. It will keep most of the droppings off the floor.

For the floor I wouldn't use straw as you have seen it getting moldy.

What is the floor of your coops made of?
Are they wood or dirt?

 

[Duck_life]

With 6 coops I would put droppings boards under the roosts.

Those can be covered with pdz and the droppings sifted out daily or however often is needed. That can go directly into a compost pile. It will keep most of the droppings off the floor.

For the floor I wouldn't use straw as you have seen it getting moldy.

What is the floor of your coops made of?
Are they wood or dirt?

Wood, the coop is lifted.

 

[Duck_life]

I forgot to mention, my duck coop is made of dirt though, so is my silkies coop.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Has the moldy straw been in the duck house or every house?

 

[Duck_life]

Has the moldy straw been in the duck house or every house?

I use it in every coop, we hadn't built something to put it in so we covered it with a tarp, leading to it being moldy. We have to find somewhere else to put it.

 

[21hens-incharge]

So it is molding just from storage method?

Setting it on pallets will help keep it dry. Find a high piece of ground, lay the pallets (2 high of need be), then stack and tarp on top of that.
Even then tarps can and do leak.

That is how I stored hay for my cattle decades ago.

 

[21hens-incharge]

For your duck house.....
To help keep it dry in there out the water dish that is inside the coop in a plastic tray that is big enough to catch the water they sling/drip.

Putting shavings in the tray will keep their feet from slipping around.

The tray will be easier to clean up than frozen soggy straw.

 

[ValerieJ]

I use straw in my chicken coops here in rainy Washington. I pull it all out every week and spread it around the run. Then put fresh straw in the coops. I have a shed for storing the straw and other chicken supplies now, but I used to keep the straw on a pallet with a tarp over it. It worked fine for keeping the straw dry, but I had to kick a mouse out of it once. And another time I lifted the tarp and found a dozen eggs. Sneaky girls. I use a hoe, a rake and a scraper to clean out my coops too. It's fast and easy. It helps that my run is very large and can accommodate the used straw. The girls dig through it and it eventually turns to soil.

 

[BantyChooks]

I use pine shavings, hay, and leaves to make a dry deep bedding system. I still change it out fully a few times per year, because it's nice for the floor to be able to get some air, and it helps parasite loads from building up, I think. I shovel out the used bedding and dump it in the woods somewhere to start composting.