How to prevent coop from getting dusty?

[jenuimbe]

my coop has a tendency to get extremely dusty no matter what bedding i use. there are 12 chickens and i have tried mulched leaves, pine shavings, and straw to no avail. i have to keep a feather duster in the coop so i can dust off the 1/2 inch of dust that accumilates every few days. my coop has two large ventilation windows on the doors and a smaller rectangular ventilation hole on the rear end about 5 1/2 feet high closer to their roosts. i also open my coop doors and let it air out about once a week.

should i add more ventilation to keep the dust down? would more ventilation even help with the dust? is there any bedding that's actually dust free? im going to try hemp bedding soon (getting it delivered by january), is hemp less dusty? this has been an ongoing problem for years but its getting worse and im worried that its going to start affecting their respiratory tracts so any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Tookie]

Could you get a picture of their coop inside and out? What are they dimensions of the coop?

 

[WallyG74]

Chickens flap their wings and kick up dust. They will be fine.

 

[nuthatched]

Get rid of the chickens.
I'm joking, of course, but most of that 'dust' is chicken dander, there's nothing you can do about that and the rest of it is the necessary dust they bathe in that gets flapped around. They'll be fine, don't worry about it.

 

[RojoMarz]

1/2 in every few days? Wow. I've had chickens for several years and have never dusted. I have no where near 1/2 in of dust/dander hanging around the coop, even with 9 chickens and frequent 30+ mph wind kicking up dirt. I'm also wondering about your coop size and your general location.

 

[jenuimbe]

i can't get pictures right now but i can try to upload some this afternoon. the coop is a repurposed shed thats around 8'x20' if i remember correctly. the first third of it is for supplies and they get access to the other two thirds. i live a couple miles away from DC so its not especially dusty outside and the temps are low 40's high 30's right now.

i had a feeling it was chicken dander because bedding didn't affect it but these chickens are creating a ridiculous amount of dust and it even makes me cough sometimes. but they havent had any reaction to the dust and don't even seem to notice it

 

[aart]

i have to keep a feather duster in the coop so i can dust off the 1/2 inch of dust that accumilates every few days.

That much, really??!!
Using a feather duster just moves it around, it doesn't remove it.
Use a shop vac if you want to remove it.

Get rid of the chickens.

Seriously tho, that might be is probably the only real way.

 

[3KillerBs]

Really excellent ventilation helps with dust.

I have trouble putting in links from my phone, but see the article on my signature line.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Get rid of the chickens.

x3 lol. Hemp may help a little, but I agree the chickens themselves are the main contributor.

I blow out the coop once a year, and I mask up when doing daily under-the-roost cleaning inside the coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

Really excellent ventilation helps with dust.

I have trouble putting in links from my phone, but see the article on my signature line.

Here's the link properly: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/