How often do you clean out duck coop?

[AnaD]

Because it smells EVERYDAY in their temporary pen. I suppose the little stinkers don't even mind their own smell. How to you clean your coops out?

 

[Amiga]

In winter: they have a 10 by 6' pen in the basement. Daily chores: collect eggs, remove one forkfull* of damp straw, sprinkle one or two flakes of fresh straw on top of existing straw, sprinkle fresh sawdust pellets on top of sawdust pellets in splash catcher.

Once a week or so - remove a few forkfulls of damp straw around edges of where the daily forkfull comes from, replace with two flakes of fresh straw, replace sawdust in splash catcher with all fresh.

Once a month or so - remove all used straw and replace with fresh. I would not do this except I want to keep an eye on the flooring underneath, which, so far, has been just fine. Next winter, will likely only clean out a couple of times.

I asked my beloved, and visiting neighbors and friends what it smells like. Their answers: a little like fresh soil, like straw, so little aroma that it doesn't really smell like anything, certainly nothing bad.

In late spring, summer, fall: Daily chores: collect eggs, replace water in drinking and swimming pans, check straw layer in shelter. Push straw aside, stir shavings underneath with a four foot long 1 inch by 1 inch stick. Pull straw back over top. If needed, pull straw layer (about two or three inches) out of shelter, stir shavings, add three flakes of fresh straw.

I have ten runner ducks. As I mention regularly, for me, finding a way to manage the water made a tremendous difference. While they were young (three months and under), I needed to clean the brooder three to five times daily - and they lived in the house all that time and the house, and the room they were in, did not have a bad odor.

*I use a pitchfork.

 

[Lamar Estate]

Quote:
WOW! Would you add some pictures, please? I'd love to see this.

 

[nettie]

We have an indoor pen that's made in segments. Certain segments get cleaned out a lot more often than others. Usually the segment with the water, where they get their treats, and by the food all half to be cleaned out the most often, especially the water one. Our pen is indoors, so we also clean out any part that is stinky. The other "run" segments and the nest box segment don't need it nearly as often, sometimes up to four weeks without any cleaning. We use saw dust pellets.

 

[loubapache]

Yes, would love to see your basement pen.

I have my duck/ducklings in the basement now. I used a 300 gallon stock tank. for this coming winter, I plan top build a pen near the basement sump.

 

[hennyannie]

I have found a way to help with the smell in our small duck pen. (Please keep in mind ours are small ducklings) I litter the floor with the wood pellet bedding, then add some wood shavingss on top. For the water area I have a large bucket cut off about three inches high, in the bucket I have a brick two inches high with the waterer on top. The little ducks can reach the water with or without getting in the bucket, but the excess water stays in the bucket. This keeps the bedding dry and really helps.

 

[hennyannie]

Working on a larger version of this for the larger pen they will go in outside. They will have an outside and inside area, so I will need to keep the inside dry and fresh. I intend to have a place for them to swim a little outside.

 

[Amiga]

Okay - in a few . . .

 

[Amiga]

Here is the pen in the basement - before the daily cleanup

This is the way we keep the water under relative control - I just added sawdust on top

Here is a peek inside the spring/summer/fall coop

Another look inside

Here is the "Dutch door" that makes it easy to get the work done

 

[gofasterstripe]

I use shavings in my duck house and I clean every day or every 2 days depends on how poopy they have been or if im in a rush and going out for the day. But I dont go 3 days. All it takes is 5 minutes to rake the shavings into a tub and I use a burn barrel to burn them so im not left with a mound of poopy shavings.