how often should a coop be cleaned?

[ChuckenGirl]

we usally clean ours once a month.
and waterers? we clean those about once a week, depending on the season

 

[jjthink]

I de-poop daily, to ensure no smell (I only have 2 chickens but man, do they poop up a storm, the hen incredibly so). But I feel like I am overdue to change out all the shavings and straw - I add fresh frequently but have to find the time to really clean and get rid of all the older stuff. JJ

Edited to answer about water. I serve water in bowls, seeing as there are only 2 of them. I change the water twice daily since it tends to get messy.

 

[chickflick]

Well, during the warmer weather, I tried to clean under the roosts every other day. Just scooped out the poop. Now, it's winter and using the deep litter method, so just stirring things up every few days. It's said, like compost, all that poop generates heat to help keep the birds warmer in winter. I add new shavings once a month or so. I tell you, tho, it's killing me! I like a clean house and a clean coop! Can't wait till spring when all that comes out! lol

 

[schmism]

im useing deep litter and usually every few days i toss out some scratch to have the girls move the beding/straw around.

i have a hanging water'r and it gets 'cleaned" regularly depending on how much crap the girls have kicked into it lately. some times it goes 3 or 4 days with out needing to be cleaned, other times its every day.

water'r gets changed about once a week but they get most of there water from when i let them out (free range) and just about everyone uses the dog dish(s) which get changed daily (sometimes mulitpul times depending on use)

 

[KingsCalls]

I use the deep litter method. I actually remove all the litter in the spring and scatter it on the garden and till it in. Then again in the middle of summer and once more about late Nov. and start over in spring again. Just turn and toss it every so often. If it gets really cold for several days straight and all the birds huddle in the coop for several days then I will clean it out an extra time. My feeder is in the coop(hanging deer feeder) and the birds scratch around for any they spill, that helps also.

 

[Corey NC]

I have a dropping "pit" beneath my roosts that is wired off so that the chooks can't get in it, it get's cleaned out about once every 3 months or when it is full (i.e. when I have to pull the lawnmower around to pull the drawer out). The coop part I add a new bag of shavings every 1-2 months depending on the level of shavings. And I fully clean it out once in the spring and once in the fall.

The waterers get rinsed out every time I have to refill it which is about once every 3-4 days.

 

[domromer]

I try to tidy our coop everyday but sometimes I seem to forget. It takes about 3 days for our coop to get stinky. You nose will let you know when it has to be done.

 

[Wildsky]

I cleaned mine out just before winter, now I'm just adding new clean wood shavings and straw. I'll clean all that out when it warms up again (probably May)

I change water every 2-3 days.