How often to clean coop?

[Romochickencrazy]

I clean my coop out weekly. Just use pine shavings. I see some people say they use sand & I have wanted to add sand to an area of my yard for my dog to dig up instead of the grass. However I have been afraid to do this because I do let my chickens out to free range from time to time & this is an area they would then have access too. Anyway my question is: Is it safe for the chickens??? I've heard that its bad for their digestive track. Is that True or False???

 

[Cynthia12]

Quote:
Sand? More often not good for upper respiratory. I know that a lot of folks use it, and swear by it..but when my hens started sneezing just a day after I put it in, I took it out. That made the second type of sand I had tried. Thought the larger grain would be better. And no, no new hens from somewhere else, and I don't let anyone with chickens come into my chicken area..I'm such a meanie!

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
Wood stove pellets are great, I used to use them when I lived where I could get them, for my horse stalls.
Currently, I use a pine pellet for my kitty litter box and love it.
For my coop, I use rice hulls and alfalfa hay. I also add free pine needles raked up from all over my yard. I wish I had leaves, I'd add shredded leaves as well.
I start with a bag of rice hulls and add a flake of alfalfa or two a week. Once a month or so will add a wheelbarrow or two of pine shavings. Dust in DE every few weeks, including the nest boxes.
I also throw some fresh sprigs of rosemary, lavender and armfuls of fresh lemongrass around (I grow tons of it) for insect control and because it smells so nice.

 

[CarolynF]

I'm a definite fan of sand in the run and the coop. I clean the coop every morning, it takes about 90 seconds for a small coop. Love how it stays dry and is so easy & quick to clean!

 

[JLB]

I use straw in the dirt run, adding new straw when the other packs down or when it's raining so they have a dry place to be. In the hen house/covered open coop area I use pine shavings. When it packs down or smells, I add more. the hen house is raised with part of the floor being wood/the other part hardware cloth under the perches. The manure falls through that to a tray down below that I dump into the compost every 2 weeks. I wire brush clean the hardware cloth daily.

 

[SC_Hugh]

Quote:

We have very similar setups with 5 hens and small coop

my 4'x7' playhouse coop conversion complete with Dutch door recently got new roost bars and exterior nest boxes upgrades. I attached a 9" curb to the main door and pop door exits to keep the shavings inside the coop. Yesterday, I added a 9" middle divider to separate the roosting area (poopy side) from the other 1/2 of the floor, nearest the 3 nest boxes. The painted wooden floor still looks pretty clean after 2 years using the DLM. I plan to cut a low door into the back of the coop, so that I can sweep the shavings out the back next time I do a coop clean out. Then, I can scoop the old shavings near the nest boxes under the roost and then add fresh shavings to the nest box side. 3-4 months will be better than 6 months for under the roosting bars.

Yesterday, my hens got 3-4" of fresh shavings after I removed their 6 month old shavings (into the large round compost bin), fresh start for the new year. In my area of CA, we only see frost for a few days a year and hardly ever see a freeze.

 

[Carolyn252]

We have very similar setups with 5 hens and small coop

my 4'x7' playhouse coop conversion complete with Dutch door recently got new roost bars and exterior nest boxes upgrades. I attached a 9" curb to the main door and pop door exits to keep the shavings inside the coop. Yesterday, I added a 9" middle divider to separate the roosting area (poopy side) from the other 1/2 of the floor, nearest the 3 nest boxes. The painted wooden floor still looks pretty clean after 2 years using the DLM. I plan to cut a low door into the back of the coop, so that I can sweep the shavings out the back next time I do a coop clean out. Then, I can scoop the old shavings near the nest boxes under the roost and then add fresh shavings to the nest box side. 3-4 months will be better than 6 months for under the roosting bars.

Yesterday, my hens got 3-4" of fresh shavings after I removed their 6 month old shavings (into the large round compost bin), fresh start for the new year. In my area of CA, we only see frost for a few days a year and hardly ever see a freeze.

You say you're going to cut a low door into your playhouse coop so that you can more easily sweep out the old shavings. I too have a playhouse coop (Little Tike's plastic playhouse for little kids) and it's so lightweight, I simply tilt it forward until it's resting on the exterior nest box that I installed on one side. That exposes the entire footprint of the coop and I can just shovel or rake out the year's worth of old shavings.​

 

[SC_Hugh]

Quote:
You say you're going to cut a low door into your playhouse coop so that you can more easily sweep out the old shavings. I too have a playhouse coop (Little Tike's plastic playhouse for little kids) and it's so lightweight, I simply tilt it forward until it's resting on the exterior nest box that I installed on one side. That exposes the entire footprint of the coop and I can just shovel or rake out the year's worth of old shavings.

My wooden coop is too heavy to tip over to clean out, but I like your system. Little Tykes stuff is cute too.

 

[Carolyn252]

Quote:
You say you're going to cut a low door into your playhouse coop so that you can more easily sweep out the old shavings. I too have a playhouse coop (Little Tike's plastic playhouse for little kids) and it's so lightweight, I simply tilt it forward until it's resting on the exterior nest box that I installed on one side. That exposes the entire footprint of the coop and I can just shovel or rake out the year's worth of old shavings.

My wooden coop is too heavy to tip over to clean out, but I like your system. Little Tykes stuff is cute too.

Oh. OK. BTW, if you'd like to see it, a photo of my Little Tykes playhouse/coop is near the top of this message thread, at message # 21.
-Carolyn252

 

[SC_Hugh]

Nice setup Carolyn

How big is that Little Tykes coop? How many hens can fit inside?

--Hugh