I'm the queen of poop mountain!

[MrsMcnugget]

if the space your are talking about in the hutch is really restricted then it's possible that cleaning it regularly is necessary. the other option you have is getting some hardware cloth and adding a run so they have more room. if you go in that direction, definitely cover it, chickens do best when they and the dirt they scratch around remains mostly dry.

@Birdinhand , Yes, it's necessary to pick up every day. I don't mind it it all, though. I do want to have a better set up for them, however, and something that won't be as time consuming for me. There are several issues which I need to address to improve the situation of housing.

As it is now, our coop, I believe, is about 4' L, 23" D. Only two of my girls stay in it at night, as they haven't accepted the "new" girl Cookie even though she's been around for months. I tryed putting her in at night but the darn head hen still got up in pitch dark to peck at her. I put Cookie in our attached garage in a dog kennel. But the three of them spend all day together. I'm working on it. Winter sucks because its so cold and half the time I'm bringing to girls in the garage to stay out of the bitter cold.

So, the coop sits inside a large covered dog kennel, and that is covered with tarp-wrapped lattice to keep out wind and rain and weather. That whole thing is under a younger maple tree, surrounded by 3' garden fencing. There were several things that weren't considered by my parents, who made all the decisions about where and how things were set up. While it stays dry, the ground does become saturated when it rains more than usual and if it snows and melts, because all the runoff goes in that direction. They never noticed before because it was covered in grass and vegetation. But now there is nothing but hard dirt...and soggy dirt in the rain.

I put down several layers of pea gravel and sand and more sand to help keep it from being a mud hole, which has worked, but it still gets damp. So we will be moving things and reconfiguring things as soon as we get another warm weekend. I let my girls free range almost everyday from 9- bed time. I interact with them a hundred times a day, so they're supervised for most of the day. Where our house is situated it gets blasted by wind for some reason, and its very irritating....

I don't know where I am going with all this information Lol! My train of thought just got blown of the rails! Lol
Thank you for the advice, it is much appreciated.

 

[Joeschooks]

I haven't been interacting on BYC like I intended when I joined. Instead, I search for answers to questions and seek out silent support for any chicken issues which may pop up.

But as winter drags on, and my one-sided chicken conversations dangle on the edge of sanity, between reverence and obsession, I wonder if I am suffering from some sort of chicken keeping induced psychosis.

In other words; perhaps I'm not getting enough human interaction? So, here I am, on what is probably one of the least human-y forms of interacting... Forums.

I wanted to ask this question: Does anyone else go around picking up chicken poop all day, every day? Or, is this just some severe personal, obsessive flaw I have?

I only have three chickens, which I'm very surprised chicken math hasn't over taken me yet, and I pick up all poo from their tiny coop and run, as well as the driveway, patio, garage and yard if I see it. Some days I tell myself, "Not on this day! Today I will only pick up the coop!" But then I begin to feel very guilty and run around chasing poo!

As if chickens weren't bad enough, I am the pooper scooper for all cat and dog poops as well. Ugh... I feel like my life is all poop right now. It could be the crappy weather, fewer hours of sun or my meds aren't working any more... Or all of the above.

Can anyone relate to anything I'm saying here? Or am I just a but?

I had to laugh out loud reading your post! I think because I can totally empathise! If I’m not picking up poop in the coop you’ll find me scooping it out the cats litter tray. If I’m not there I’m cleaning out the brooder! I don’t have to scoop poop from the coop but it keeps the woodchips cleaner for longer. OCD for sure.

 

[Chickassan]

I can't laugh at you...i have a dookie bin and i actually enjoy scooping up the little poops and saving them up for the garden. I hate when it rains or snows and i get shorted on my poops. Its the best nitrogen ever once it has dried out.

 

[Kiki]

@Birdinhand , Yes, it's necessary to pick up every day. I don't mind it it all, though. I do want to have a better set up for them, however, and something that won't be as time consuming for me. There are several issues which I need to address to improve the situation of housing.

As it is now, our coop, I believe, is about 4' L, 23" D. Only two of my girls stay in it at night, as they haven't accepted the "new" girl Cookie even though she's been around for months. I tryed putting her in at night but the darn head hen still got up in pitch dark to peck at her. I put Cookie in our attached garage in a dog kennel. But the three of them spend all day together. I'm working on it. Winter sucks because its so cold and half the time I'm bringing to girls in the garage to stay out of the bitter cold.

So, the coop sits inside a large covered dog kennel, and that is covered with tarp-wrapped lattice to keep out wind and rain and weather. That whole thing is under a younger maple tree, surrounded by 3' garden fencing. There were several things that weren't considered by my parents, who made all the decisions about where and how things were set up. While it stays dry, the ground does become saturated when it rains more than usual and if it snows and melts, because all the runoff goes in that direction. They never noticed before because it was covered in grass and vegetation. But now there is nothing but hard dirt...and soggy dirt in the rain.

I put down several layers of pea gravel and sand and more sand to help keep it from being a mud hole, which has worked, but it still gets damp. So we will be moving things and reconfiguring things as soon as we get another warm weekend. I let my girls free range almost everyday from 9- bed time. I interact with them a hundred times a day, so they're supervised for most of the day. Where our house is situated it gets blasted by wind for some reason, and its very irritating....

I don't know where I am going with all this information Lol! My train of thought just got blown of the rails! Lol
Thank you for the advice, it is much appreciated.

Have you heard of the deep litter method?
It might be a good idea for your run, to help keep it dryer.