How often to clean coop?

[Chickenaddict]

I use the DLM over winter here in my coop. I start out with a thick layer of straw, then a layer of DE, another thick layer of pine shavings, about 3 bags @ 7.0 CF and another thin dusting of DE on top of that. I add a few bags a month. I clean it out in the spring and add the old bedding to the compost pile. Works great, doesn't smell at all and it keeps the banties real warm in these brutal winters we get. The pair of call ducks we have with our flock add the moisture to the bedding of course

I stir it up once a week, takes me less then 5 minutes.

 

[iliamna]

We have 7 chickens now; there are 4 individual nest boxes and two long boxes in their coop with straw in them. I clean inside the house every morning, sweep the wood floor, pick up droppings from the boxes and the part of the floor with straw on it, change their water and fill their long feeder. We wash the whole inside twice each year; spring and late summer, paint boxes and walls if needed. There is also a back fenced in yard that I pick up the droppings every day so they stay clean. It doesn't take long when it's done every day.

 

[Cynthia12]

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X2! I clean the coop itself once a week. I use shavings..found that my hens tend to get sand up their nostrils and mouths when they scratch in the sand, then I'm hearing sneezing. I changed back to shavings real quick.

 

[Cynthia12]

Quote:

Love it! Any store for that matter. I still like to clean the coop once a week, but I don't use the bleach every week..that happens a couple of times a year.

 

[Carolyn252]

Quote:
You've got yourself tied up in a knot of unfortunate imaginings. It's like saying, how do you manage to walk around outside knowing that you're stepping on dirt? Or stepping on millions of dead animals and dead people that have been accumulating for the past million years? Or how can you bear to walk into your house knowing that your shoes have been walking on sidewalks where birds have pooped and insects have crawled and dogs have peed? Or how can you bear to eat a carrot knowing that it grew in dirt? Or how can you bear to kiss someone knowing that mouths are full of bacteria? The DLM turns all the chicken poop into fine, nutritious fertilizer filled with minerals and enzymes and vitamins and healthy bacteria. Healthy for humans to eat? NO, not at all. But YES healthy for the topsoil of our entire planet. So the Earth and its earthen layer can be fed. And the Earth and the earth then becomes the garden that feeds the plants that feed YOU.

The DE and the pine shavings together with the earth beneath them, all combine with the chicken poo to create a chemical furnace that immediately works on breaking down the poo and changing it to plain ole, good ole DIRT. Compost. Fertilizer. And that furnace produces HEAT. And REMOVES THE SMELL OF CHICKEN POO. Cause it's NOT poo anymore. It's just good, rich, dirt. NO SMELL. No yuk. NO POO. If I were to hunt through the shavings looking for last week's poo I wouldn't fine ANY of it. Might find some of yesterday's. Maybe.

 

[tmasker]

Ok... I have read all the postings from the beginning to today. I live in Central Florida. It is the end of Thanksgiving and the thermometer in my hen house reads 80 degrees. I don't use the DLM and clean out the pine shavings every other weekend. I have posted the photo of our hen house with the front opened for cleaning and cooling in the summer. Therefore, my question is about HEAT!!! I understand the natural process of breaking down the waste in the DLM thus creating heat is a good thing for thoses of you in the frozen north.... BUT.. what about in warmer climates? Would it create too much heat for our girls? Just wondering. I would really like to switch to the DLM so I could have my weekends free to do other things, like a dip in the pool. Still considering changing, but would like more information or advice! (Yikes... did I just "stir things up again?")

 

[zhinka]

I clean out all my coops and cages twice a month. I have had zero problems with mites or diseases and I have some hens (mixed breed) that are going to be 13 years old that still lay!!
Clean coops are the best way to keep a bird healthy and the cheapest!!
I have always felt that if I cannot make the time to clean my coops that I do not deserve to have them!
I clean my quail pens and cages twice a week as I think it makes the quail happier, chickens are dirty birds and do not mind stepping in poo,but quail always seem to avoid it so they appreciate the extra attention.
Also cleaning coops frequently assures you that you will have no moisture, dust or mice nests etc.

 

[zhinka]

oops forgot to add I am in North Dakota where it has been known to get a tiny bit cold. Cleaning coops in cold weather is a pleasure, everything mucks out fast and easy when it's froze together lol

 

[ezdavey66]

Well from here, everybody seems to be a pro . I clean my coop out every 2 weeks or so. It is (the coop) actually my daughters' first playhouse from 20 years ago. It's 4'x8' with an outdoor carpet floor, drywall and it is very weatherproof. The "girls" have about an extra 100 sq ft to roam around in the yard (fenced off with chicken wire). This keeps the wife happy. You just have to keep an eye out for food/water cleanliness. Don't forget, the backyard looks so much nicer with organic fertilizer. Oh, I almost forgot. The Girls are Rosie, JustJack, Peppa, Belle and Bustie.

 

[LisaFD]

I have only had my chickens in their coop since Labor Day. My husband laid cement board over the plywood floor, then parged it with flexible concrete. Then, he built three shallow (about 3" deep) plywood boxes that slide beneath the roosting ladder and nest boxes. I filled these boxes with fine pine shavings, then scattered a couple inches of larger pine shavings over the rest of the coop floor. I found a large slotted kitty litter scoop that I use to scoop up the big "plops" from the boxes. I shake the scoop from side to side until most of the fine shavings fall back into the plywood box, then dump the remaining poop into a bucket. It takes about 5 minutes to clean out the boxes, as most of the droppings are concentrated in the box directly beneath the top two rungs of the roost. I use a metal dust pan and a brush or the kitty litter scoop to pick up the droppings from the floor area outside the boxes. My coop is 7'x9' and I have 10 hens and a rooster that free-range most days. Their coop opens into a 100 sq ft enclosure so they spend most of the day outside, with access to the interior.

The coop is well ventilated, and so far, smells of pine. I usually scoop every day, but every once in a while, I skip a day. If I skip a day and the kids have to stay inside all day, I notice a bit of a manure smell when I first open the door, but it clears quickly. I use a 2.5 gallon bucket to collect the droppings. I need to empty the bucket into the compost bin every third day. So far, I've used a 5 cu ft bag of fine shavings and almost one (5 cu ft) bag of coarse shavings. I use the shavings in the nest boxes and on a large shelf, located near the ceiling where three of the girls like to roost and lay their eggs. I scrape and replace the shelf shavings every couple weeks. I've been adding shavings to replace what I remove with the droppings.

I wondered if I needed to completely replace the shavings periodically, but it sounds as though this method will see me through to spring. I plan to completely clean and scrub the coop twice a year. We painted the interior white and coated the concrete floor with some of that epoxy garage floor covering, so I can hose it down. I do plan to spot clean the walls and scrub down the roosting ladder before it gets really cold, but so far, I am pleased with the easy upkeep and very clean eggs.