How often do you clean your chicken's coop?

[AnimalGeek23]

I'm just wondering when I should clean my future chicken's coop.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

As often as necessary is the simple answer. Every coop is different based on size and stocking rate. If it stinks, is too dusty, or just needs it, than clean it.

 

[21hens-incharge]

You will get a lot of different answers.
Much depends on size of coop, number of birds, bantam or big, type of litter, climate etc.

Oldhenlikesdogs said it best.

If it smells or is to dusty clean it.

 

[Kiki]

Yep..I agree with the above.
I have poop trays and I clean them once a week...maybe once every week and half.
Just depends.

 

[AnimalGeek23]

Thanks for all your answers! Except... some of my friends say to clean it twice a year?! And others say to clean it once a week? And I'm getting two Buff Orpingtons in a pretty large coop. Orpingtons are big.

 

[Kiki]

It depends on what type of beding you use.
It depends on what type of floor you will have.

You won't know how often you need to clean it until you build it and have chickens living in it.
You will learn how much/often once you live through it.

 

[Relleoms]

I have a tray under the roosts that collect nightly droppings, covered in old feed sacks. I scrape the poo off that each morning. Poo in the shavings on the floor are are cleaned out when I see them, so it stays pretty clean. Once or twice a year, I’ll remove all shavings, roosts & droppings board and wipe them down with soapy water, then take a shop vac to the coop to suck up dust & spider webs. Add fresh pine shavings & I’m done. Guess you could say I pick up every day, “clean” twice a year.

 

[Bob P]

Once a week I replace all the pine shavings, coop is 4x6 floor area with six hens. I clean out nesting boxes once a month, never any poop in them.

 

[Beer can]

I use deep litter. Doesn't smell at all and the poop disappears, dry, no mess. Looks and smells like powdered dirt.
No poop boards. The pile of poopsicles under their roost in the winter gets raked into the litter come warmer weather and disappears also. I clean it out once a yr in the spring for garden fertilizer. I've even went two years before. Then add a deep layer of free sawdust, and lots of dried tree leaves in the fall. Doesn't take long and all of it and the chicken poop becomes dry powdered dirt.

 

[Foster's Freehold]

I'm with Beer Can. I'm a lazy keeper lol. I use deep litter, toss a handful of scratch and use hay so the birds do the turning. Once in a while, after lots of rain, I"ll turn it because my bottom is open to the rain washing in. Clean it out in the fall, put it away in the compost pile, come spring pure wonderful compost.