Inside Tips for Easy Cleaning

[afviolettes]

I'm going to start my coop next weekend, but I was thinking about how 98% of the coop will be all wood ... which is going to make it a royal pain to clean (if the little roost bar I made for them in their tub is any indication).

I'm wondering what ya'll have done to make the inside of the coop specifically easier to clean and maintain ... I've read and seen all the different tips for rollout boards, the "poop hammock", grates etc etc to catch things directly underneath the roost ... but for those that miss, hit the walls etc what is easiest to keep it relatively easy to clean ? Paint ? But some kind of poly seal on it ?

Any tips are appreciated - thanks!

 

[afviolettes]

Anyone ?

Would painting help ?

What about poly-urethane ?

 

[KerryP]

One of the best things I ever did was to put linoleum flooring on the inside of the hen house. It makes it about 1000x easier to clean. Here's what it looked like after installation:


I just stapled it down - my mom had some leftover linoleum after re-doing her kitchen floors. I'd HIGHLY recommend it. I put pine shavings on top of it, and when it's time to clean poop comes off easily and quickly. And I can scrub it down whenever I feel the need. If you don't have any extra laying around, lots of local flooring stores should have bits and pieces they'll sell for really cheap.

 

[afviolettes]

One of the best things I ever did was to put linoleum flooring on the inside of the hen house. It makes it about 1000x easier to clean. Here's what it looked like after installation:


I just stapled it down - my mom had some leftover linoleum after re-doing her kitchen floors. I'd HIGHLY recommend it. I put pine shavings on top of it, and when it's time to clean poop comes off easily and quickly. And I can scrub it down whenever I feel the need. If you don't have any extra laying around, lots of local flooring stores should have bits and pieces they'll sell for really cheap.

 

[KerryP]

The roost bars have held up perfectly - every inch of the coop is made out of cedar, including the roosting bars. It's been great. I've added other bars since that photo, and I'm in the middle of extending the hen house portion of the coop/run just to give them a little more room. But - the bars are working perfectly. And they're not that expensive - I could cut and replace one in 5 minutes flat if I ever needed to. They've held all 6 of my hens, every night, without fail.

What is the one you have in the tub built out of?

 

[afviolettes]

Kerry,

I it's just simple 1x2 bar - they just tore it up .. i'm sure it's just due to their age and the shape, it just had me worried!

 

[Hokum Coco]

I'm wondering what ya'll have done to make the inside of the coop specifically easier to clean and maintain ..

Any tips are appreciated - thanks!

Nest boxes
In my nest boxes I fold a feed bag to fit (nest boxes are 1 ft³). When a bag gets soiled; fold a new one; pop out the soiled; pop in the new. Feed bags are a nylon mesh bag.
Frozen poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off in summer when left out in the sun to bake and dry.

I have 65 trips around the sun it is the best method I have stumbled upon.

Make sure the twine is removed from the open end of the bag it can get tangled around your birds.

 

[TerryH]

Painting the inside should help with cleanup. I used 2 coats of primer and then a good coat of semi-gloss exterior latex. Much brighter than the bare wood also.

I also rolled Black Jack #57 roof coating on the floor to seal it and make cleanout much easier than just bare wood. As previously mentioned, linoleum is also a good choice. I opted for the roof coating because it flows into every crack and crevice to totally seal the wood from any possibility of moisture.

 

[aart]

Depends on how 'clean' you expect it to be.

Properly sized roost boards with sand/PDZ makes manure management pretty slick for me, sift it out every other day and send to compost.
I have vinyl down under dry pine shavings that I change out 1-2 times a year.

Keeping things dry is key for me....moisture equals organism growth and odor.
But I'm not a big 'cleaner'...dried poops get scraped off roosts every other day..... ramps and nest perch...once in a while.

Kerry,

I it's just simple 1x2 bar - they just tore it up .. i'm sure it's just due to their age and the shape, it just had me worried!

How did they tear it up? They chewed the wood?
Maybe bored...my bird nosh on old half rotten logs in run, but have never had them chew any wood in the coop.

 

[afviolettes]

Sorry it took my so long to check this ... I was busy building my coop ....

What I meant by "tore up" was they just crapped all over it ... but it was a mini-roost I had built for the garage brooder ... now that they've been outside they are good to go and don't have any issues...

I eventually went with painting all the inside walls with a good exterior paint and I put down a sheet of vinyl to help the floor out ...