How often to clean coop?

[effie]

amen dead rabbit!!!! I will have to say if my coop was bigger I would do the deep litter thing--for my space the boards will have to do-the previous coop was a dirt floor and I did the deep litter thing. Cleaned it out with a snow shovel into the wheel barrrow and straight to the garden. Then again like I said I grew up on a farm and I still love the smell of horse and cow manure!!!
what's a little chicken poop! I am also like a member on here that everyone should read his page ---wyododge---common sense logic--and I like him have to wonder while doing all this bleaching and scrubbing are you getting rid of good bacteria they may need. I agree with him the more you clean and change their surroundings the weaker you may make them. You can domesticate an animal to the point that is isn't good for them or their health. There is a proven study out there that says that children that are allowed to play out inthe dirt have less allergies than the ones who stay in all the time. We grew up with the motto--dirt don't hurt!! AndI don't think a little chicken poop does either.

 

[Patricia Jane]

As with a lot of things I can only suggest what works best for you. I too use the DLM and would not do it any other way. I live in CA so my chickens are out year round, no snow in my neck of the woods. I use poop boards lined with linoleum and pine shavings. I clean it every day using a kitty litter scoop. It takes 10 min at the most. I have 2 poop boards. I also use DE. I add an inch or so of fresh pine shavings to the coop as well and mix it around to fluff it. I have zero smell. I consider myself as a very clean and tidy person and would not use this method if it did smell. I clean out my coop twice a year Spring and Fall and give it a good scrubbing, DE and all fresh shavings. I clean the nesting boxes as needed. I have never had any problems with mites, lice etc. DE is a good drying agent and suggests it works on flys, lice, mites, ticks, fleas etc. You can do a research on it. I can't proof it works on all as I have not had problems with most bugs. But it works great for drying poop. You should be able to find it at your local feed store or on line. But please make sure it is food grade. There is DE for pools and is deadly.

 

[Ksane]

I'm not debating a thing in the world and I believe in "to each his own". I've not done the DLM (as I stated) because the thought of them sleeping on layers on poop drives me bonkers-that's just me. However-if the DLM is the greatest thing since sliced bread why don't they use it for horses, goats, other livestock, etc? Why do only chickens get the honor of sleeping on their poo from 5 months ago? lol Not arguing, just wondering.

 

[Ksane]

Quote:
Ummm...e coli, salmonella.....actually chicken poop *does hurt (any kind of poop). I'm one of the people who let my kids make mud pies if they wanted when they were little. But I firmly believe in washing thoroughly after getting any kind of feces on our hands.

 

[effie]

I guess I am confused-I didn't see anywhere on here where anyones chickens were sleeping in or on their poop. Mine are on a roost far away from their poo. But you are right -everyone should keep their hands cleaned---I always carry stuff to wash my hands after going to walmart-it's scarier than my coop!!!!

 

[Snack Giver]

I just wanted to share my latest method. I now use a layer of visqueen with newspaper on top. these sit on sand below their night perches. The newpaper is free and their poop lands on it instead of the sand. each day I add a couple sheets of newspaper on top of the old. the visqueen is waterproof and keeps the mositure from going below and into the sand. after 1 week I roll it all up and throw it all away. Amonia and moisture is gone. Sand is always dry and clean. Then I start again with new visqueen and newspaper each week. My coop is clean and the poop is gone each week.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

they arent in layers of manure. it amazingly breaks down. theres no explanation to it, you just have to try it. and that method is practiced on small farms. for goats hogs and cattle. as i mentioned. try reading the book i suggested. you will learn something.

the phobia of manure is not all together well founded. theres preconceived notions about it and esp. the way its handled and maintained. if you do some study on other cultures and how they deal with all types of manure including human, it will blow your mind. and these cultures have been around 1000's of yrs long before the states were every thought of. and they out number the US population by a billion or so.

ive noticed the method of using shavings by most on this thread. that alone is one problem. shavings is pushed by the big chain ag. stores and toted by the poorly written books and mags that most folks that keep fowl fall for and believe now adays. shavings are not a good litter. try real saw dust. try a mixture of diffrernt types of litter. only thing i found not working good is whole leaves...........now mulch them up with a good mulch blade and they work great.

most need to branch off of sites like this, think outside the box of yuppified chicken husbandry and visit other sites that educate you on homesteading, organic living or even permaculture. these will blow your head up with the amount of knowledge that exists. even i was amazed at what can be learned. and ive had fowl for 38 yrs. lots of them.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

now heres a lil taste of something learned. the natural process of composting creates heat. heat is a good thing for winter time. a mixture of nitrogen that is very prevalent in the green manure. mixed with the carbon of different types of litter. mulch, straw, leaves, hay, etc. is fuel. as long as there is a fresh mixture at all times, the composting method will continue to cook, the fowl will enjoy this heat. my fowl are actually dust bathing in their litter in the coops, it does not hold its shape long, you cant tell its manure, straw mulch grass and what ever else. under the fresh layer of straw it looks like rich black dirt. with the fowl continuing to turn it over, everything just works. you just cant be scared to try it.

continual cleanin, esp. bleach and all that nonsense is asking for problems in the long run. do some research.

 

[effie]

thank you!!!

 

[SC_Hugh]

Quote:
I will have to agree that Walmart shopping carts is dirtier than my coop

The chicken poop and wood shavings on our coop floor after a few months, becomes a living breathing composting pile, needing aeration, moisture and "brown" and "green" elements to break down. e. coli and other bacterias will not be able to withstand the natural breakdown of the compost pile.

Poop boards look too nasty for me to want any, but if it works for others then it is a good method too.

Please allow all of us to pick our method and then learn how to manage it, there is no best way for all climates. ie. DLM would not work well if the space were too small or too wet, 6 months for one coop maybe 2 months for another.