How often to clean coop?

[smeek1]

a droppings board under the roost is definelty the way to go. I would say 80% of the poop is on it. once a day or every other day I scrape it off ( takes less than a minute) and I have no poop in my coop.

 

[teach1rusl]

Becca - here's just one example of a dropping board - there are many varieties:

 

[Ole rooster]

I use sand and clean every morning for 8 chickens. It take about me about 5 minutes with my cat litter pooper scooper. Take it to the garden, dig a hole, pour it in, mix up the dirt and I'm done. I personally hate the idea of leaving the poop in the coop for 6 months or whatever. My little coop is 5X8 and I put in a bag of play sand about every 2 months to replace what's stuck the poop. My coop stay clean, odor free and dry. What I can't stand it with the DL method whenever moisture get to it the odor is to me sickening.

 

[urban escapee]

I use sand only use a kitty scoop for random 5 minute cleanings, and every week to two weeks I shift the top layer to get out the chunks..NO SMELL, best decision ever.

Here is the thread that convinced me

 

[tmasker]

See photo below We use pine shavings and scrape the soiled shavings out every other weekend. Husband was smart and built the hen house waist high with hinged fronts that we can hook the front up in the heat of the summer (Central Florida) to keep the hens cool! We use a dustpan and brush to scoop out the pine shavings into a wheel barrow and dump it in the compost pile. The interior of the hen house is painted with a semi gloss paint that cleans up well with a hose and rag every other month. We check the nesting boxes daily and clean out any droppings, but the girls seem to keep them clean. Who wants a "poopie egg?"

The girls enjoy a run of the yard searching for bugs and fresh grass and occassionally check on our progress making sure to "cluck out" their suggestions as we clean! Gotta love them!

 

[Ole rooster]

This why I like sand. I'm left with this in the morings for the 8 on the roost.

I timed my self this morning just to see how long it took to clean it up. 4 minutes and some change and it turned into this. And there is never and odor.

 

[BeccaSmith]

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Thanks for the picture, it really helps!

 

[BeccaSmith]

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That's a neat idea! Is the initial investment of the sand expensive? How deep is the sand and the chikens don't try and scratch to the bottom of it? With the straw the chickens scratch it around so much it seems to diminish quickly. With the sand, I don't think hubby would want to scoop the poop on a daily basis like it would need...I think that is why he likes the straw...it doesn't take a lot of maintenance....but your set up looks so nice and clean and I really like it!

 

[BeccaSmith]

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Nice set up! I really like it! Thank you for sharing the pictures!

 

[tmasker]

Our run is sandy (Fl Sugar Sand) and we rake it clean everyday. That way I know they are not scratching in each other's waste. Then I add some scratch and a few shovels full of leaves for them to play in all day. They peck the leaves into a great mulch.... Crude but effective system to get good soil for the garden!