How often to muck coop?

[dbounds10]

So our coop will be done in about 2 weeks and the girls will be moving in. I will have the 4x6 coop attached to a 12x18 run. I am going to have course sand with pea gravel for the outdoor run and I plan to use pine in the coop itself along with some DE in the shavings and the sand outside.

My question is, how often do I need to complely muck out the coop? I am hearing that using the deep litter method you only need to totally clean it out 2x a year? With my brooder, I am scooping the top layer every couple days and totally replacing once a week. I was planning to do the same with the coop. BUT - if I dont need to do it that often, I could save a ton in shavings.

I want the girls to be clean, healthy and happy so tell me how you all do it??

Also - My nest boxes are attached at the floor level so I cant really get the litter too deep...

Did not really think about that before but I guess that limits me a bit.

 

[mdibaugh]

I have been meaning to ask some one what is DE?

 

[tiffanya]

I'm not sure what you are "suppose" to do but I use shredded paper. I probably add paper every week or two and clean out about every three month.

 

[dbounds10]

Diatomaceous Earth, use only the food grade kind. Not the swimming pool kind.

It's a natural element, silica, that slices up bug bodies but leaves soft bodies alone. It helps keeps lice/mites off the birds.

 

[mdibaugh]

where can i find DE? TSC maybe?

 

[chickengrl]

I was doing it every 2 weeks and DH convinced me that that was too often. He was right, in that a lot of the shavings were still pretty clean. I waited this last time until 3 weeks and t wasn't too bad. In between, I would sometimes scoop really heavily soiled shavings out and stir in cleaner stuff like from the corners. Like mucking a horse stall! I am interested to see what other folks say.

 

[wowmanacat]

Quote:
I get mine at the health food store. Ours will get 50# bag for us if I need it.

 

[Chick named Lola]

I pick out the big poo's every day, it only takes a couple minutes. DE dries up the little ones so I give those a stir. No smells, no problems!

 

[teach1rusl]

Well, I like a clean coop, since I spend time out there. So I use dropping boards, which I scrape daily (takes only a minute). Doing this means the bedding stays clean forever...at least in Spring/Summer/Fall...gets a bit nastier over the winter months when they spend a lot more daylight hours indoors. My coop is a 6 x 8, and I probably go through about 4 bags of bedding a year. I do a complete clean out (change out bedding and wipe down walls, etc.) late fall, and another in early spring. I do mix DE into my bedding when I change it out. Obviously I don't do the DLM.