How often should I clean out the chicken coop?

[dsqard]

Quote:
Give her time! I am sure there will be more!!

I would also suggest sprinkling DE down as well. It will help keep the dampness down and help to dry out the poop.

 

[SweetPeaMandy]

Thanks! I keep seeing DE in threads, but what is it exactly?

 

[stowellka]

IMHO, if that is dirt under the hay,get rid of the hay and go buy const. sand! easier to clean buy far ,go get a lawn rake and rake the sand every couple days,rake the poo into pile then pick it up w/shovel vola ! maint. done in 10min.! again just my humble opinion

 

[stowellka]

one more thing ,the peeps love to roll in the sand, sand stays cool in the shade, and there constant scratching turns over the sand just another bonus

 

[Yay Chicks!]

If you get a roosting pole in there with a poop board underneath, you can just clean off the poop board every couple of days and there will be even less on the ground.

 

[dsqard]

Quote:
DE is diatomaceous earth (I think I spelled it right) is ground up diatom fossils. It can be used for many things. Personally I use it as a feed through way to reduce flies around my stable for my horses and I also put it in the pine shavings and the little dust bath I have in my coop. It will help keep the mite and lice population under control. Some people claim that it is a good dewormer. Personally, I do not count on it to deworm my horses. I have been feeding it to them for years and still had a horse get a bad case of tapeworm so I no longer rely on DE for that. Anyway, it will act as a natural desiccant to dry out pests and poop alike.

ETA - If you do want to use it please make sure you get the food grade stuff, not the stuff used in pool filters.

 

[SweetPeaMandy]

Hmm....The sand idea sounds good to me. There is just soil under all of that and the chickens will scratch the straw around to get to the dirt to cool off in. I think I will go do some price comparison on some sand!

With the DE, do I just sprinkle it around under the deck where they stay most of the time? What about the nest boxes? Hubby likes the idea of using it as a pest control too. I just read that "When the ants or other pests come in contact with the powder, it is like stepping on broken glass, they will be killed or abandon the area." I showed that to him and his eyes lit up lol!