How often do you clean your coop?

[BarefootMom]

I am sorta new to this chicken thing- really new to having lots of chickens! We have only had our layers for a week today. Our coop is an 8x12 storage building- with a plywood floor. We have wheat straw on the floor and in the nests. The flies are terrible! I am going to clean it out this evening when it cools off a bit, but was wondering how often other people have to clean their coop?

Does anyone use cedar chips for the floor? Does it help with flies? I know with dogs cedar is recommended because fleas and ticks don't like it.

 

[ekemily]

we use pine shavings and deep litter method
wheat straw is going to rot and smell horrible and attract more flies
cedar is toxic to birds

this might help
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5969235_litter-chickens_-pine-cedar-shavings_.html

 

[barredrockgrl]

Cedar has oils in it that are supposed to be bad for chickens. I use the deep litter method with pine shavings and Diatomaceous Earth. I "stir" the litter at least once a week, and clean beneath the roosts before I do that. I've noticed that most of the filth accumulates directly under the roost they sleep on. That makes cleaning a little easier and the deep litter method very effective.

 

[chicmom]

Hi there! I also have an 8x12 small building for my chickens. It's got an 8x8 room, and an 8x4 room. I use wood shavings in mine. About every third week, I totally sweep it out and put new shavings down. It's really cheap--a great big compressed bag only costs $5.00, and it's enought to fill the whole coop.

I take a kitty litter scoop, and do a quick round each night and scoop out the big poops. This really cuts down--I've had hardly any flies. It's really easy--takes about five or ten minutes. Now, mine aren't locked in all day....they have a run, and they also get to free range for around four hours a day, so there's a bit less poop than If they were locked in.

I have sand in my run, and I spot clean that too with the kitty scooper. It's quick and easy. Virtually no flies!

 

[new chick 203]

I save the cedar for the isles of my veg beds for that reason. No bugs. I use Coffee chaff for my hen house and I love it. Smells good. I have a small coop so I every other day I scrape the poop board off and use a kitty litter scooper to get the clumps off the floor. Every so often I add a little more chaff.

 

[homeschoolmama]

I use the deep litter method and I finally cleaned it all out after a year. By that time it had just started to smell a bit ammonia-y and I just thought a year was well past time. I think I'll try to do it twice a year from now on since it took a long time to shovel out all those pineshavings that had accumulated. It really didn't look like it but they seemed to multiply the more I shoveled. I live in uber dry Northern Arizona so that may have allowed me so much time. The chicken poop just seems to desicate very quickly here.

 

[tinychicky]

once a week or so- i only use a very thin layer of shavings. it keeps mold from growing and diseases from spreading if it's cleaned more often.

 

[SandyK]

I haven't had to work hard at all on cleaning my coop with the Deep Litter Method. This has been the best thing since sliced bread. We've had our coop for a year now and only cleaned it out totally 3 times. I use the pine shavings on the wooden floor with the DE sprinkled in whenever I think about it, every few weeks probably. Once in a while, I will take a pitchfork and turn over the shavings. If it looks like the chips are getting low, I just add more on top and the girls scratch them in with the rest. No cleaning up boards or anything. Flies aren't a problem and no smell. I use hay in their nest boxes which stays put.

I'm a happy chicken mom!! Less cleaning means more time to play with the chickens.

 

[usschicago1]

I clean in small amounts daily, and change hay bi-weekly. and i dust monthly. And i paint yearly.

 

[ekemily]

Quote:
sounds like what i do, except minus the DE. The girls scratch it up enough so that i don't need to turn it. We live in a very humid area, and i have not noticed problems with wet/soggy litter. There is enough litter on the floor that it absorbs quickly, and my chickens are not over crowded, which makes a big difference.