how often do i need to clean??

[Angel16]

okay i'll check the coop over agian to make sure its tightly closed. and do you think that an electric fance with really small holes would help keep weasels and dogs out?

 

[cafarmgirl]

It will definitely work on dogs, probably weasels too. They are likely to hit it with their nose looking for a way in. I've used hot wire to keep dogs and other things away from my coop's/run's for years with great success.

 

[Angel16]

thats great! i was thinking of puting it around the coop and run, we live in the country so we have coyotes and i really don't want anything to happen to my chicks! (i haven't actuly got them yet!!

)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ll go back to your original question, how often to clean the coop. There are so many variables there is no one right answer. Variables like how many chickens in how tight a space, how much time they spend in the coop, what kind of bedding, just lots of things. Another big factor is where you live. The wetter your climate is the more likely it is that you might have a problem.

Urban versus rural can make a big difference. People in suburbia tend to have tighter spaces and neighbors close enough that any smell might be a problem. A lot of these people do a lot of cleaning. I live in the country and have lots of room for my chickens. They don’t spend much time in the coop when they are awake and my home and my neighbors are a long way away from the coop. I cleaned my coop out for the first time in four years last fall, not because I needed to but because I wanted that stuff on my garden.

The main reason I’m posting this is to make a suggestion. They poop a lot at night when they are on the roosts. You can get a big build-up from that. A lot of us use what are called a droppings board. There are all kinds of version of these, some as simple as can be and some pretty complicated. The idea is to capture these droppings and remove them from the coop. In most circumstances this will help your bedding last a whole lot longer and you don’t have to worry about cleaning things out nearly as often.

I use a flat surface and scrape that stuff off every two to three weeks to put on my compost pile. Some people clean a droppings board daily. Some have pull-out drawers or bins they can just pick up and empty. You’ll find we do about everything related to chickens in so many different ways there is hardly ever one answer that fits us all. There is not so much a right or wrong way, just the way we choose to do it.

 

[Angel16]

I’ll go back to your original question, how often to clean the coop. There are so many variables there is no one right answer. Variables like how many chickens in how tight a space, how much time they spend in the coop, what kind of bedding, just lots of things. Another big factor is where you live. The wetter your climate is the more likely it is that you might have a problem.

Urban versus rural can make a big difference. People in suburbia tend to have tighter spaces and neighbors close enough that any smell might be a problem. A lot of these people do a lot of cleaning. I live in the country and have lots of room for my chickens. They don’t spend much time in the coop when they are awake and my home and my neighbors are a long way away from the coop. I cleaned my coop out for the first time in four years last fall, not because I needed to but because I wanted that stuff on my garden.

The main reason I’m posting this is to make a suggestion. They poop a lot at night when they are on the roosts. You can get a big build-up from that. A lot of us use what are called a droppings board. There are all kinds of version of these, some as simple as can be and some pretty complicated. The idea is to capture these droppings and remove them from the coop. In most circumstances this will help your bedding last a whole lot longer and you don’t have to worry about cleaning things out nearly as often.

I use a flat surface and scrape that stuff off every two to three weeks to put on my compost pile. Some people clean a droppings board daily. Some have pull-out drawers or bins they can just pick up and empty. You’ll find we do about everything related to chickens in so many different ways there is hardly ever one answer that fits us all. There is not so much a right or wrong way, just the way we choose to do it.

Okay! so i would have to clean out the coop more often if i didn't have all of that? and i would like to spend alot of time in the coop with my chickens so i wouldn't mind cleaning it out. what is best for the chickens?

 

[Angel16]

Okay! so i would have to clean out the coop more often if i didn't have all of that? and i would like to spend alot of time in the coop with my chickens so i wouldn't mind cleaning it out. what is best for the chickens?

i live near Toronto Ontario, so the weather is cooled and windy at this time of year but hot in the summer.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I don't have a poop board either so I just rake under the roost every morning and remove all the nights droppings. The rest of the coop stays pretty clean, I just add new shavings as needed. It stays clean with very little effort and it never stinks.

 

[Angel16]

Great! i'll try that! thank you and if you have any advice for a newbe i would really appreciate it

!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Okay! so i would have to clean out the coop more often if i didn't have all of that? and i would like to spend alot of time in the coop with my chickens so i wouldn't mind cleaning it out. what is best for the chickens?

I don’t look at it as “all that”. It could be something as simple as a sheet of plywood under the roosts or get some plastic bins and set them on the floor. Or just clean it up when it builds up, whether that is daily, weekly, or whatever schedule works for you.

I use a droppings board because I want the pure poop to go into my compost bin. I don’t want any of the bedding mixed in with it. For some people that is not a problem at all.

Don’t worry too much about what is best for the chickens. Think more about what is best for you and is more convenient for you to do. As long as the coop does not get wet or stinky the chickens will do fine. The important thing is to find a method that works for you to achieve the not wet or stinky.

 

[Angel16]

Okay thank you! is there anything else i should know about keeping chickens?