Just cleaned out my coop from winter, there must be an easier way.

[harleyjo]

I just cleaned out my 10 x 12 coop that I deep littered this past winter. I am thinking there has got to be an easier way to do this. I live in IA so our winters are cold so I know the deep litter helped to warm my coop. Is there a big pooper scooper that I could get some of the waste out a little bit at a time? I just love my coop again now that it is clean!

 

[Mahonri]

Sorry I don't think there is an easier way... and after a full winter it's real stinky.

I'm lucky to be here in AZ with a linoleum floor that we sweep and mop every week or every other week. I love a clean coop too.

 

[Judy]

I keep mine much the same way. I must say it really doesn't bother me. I don't let it get smelly or too messy, I sprinkle something around, more pine shavings, pelletized lime, sweet PDZ, whatever. If it gets a bit poopy and the chickens haven't turned it for me, I grab the rake or the pine shavings bag.

You are only going to have a clean coop for about 10 minutes, anyway, I figure.

 

[JackE]

Quote:
I use an old coal shovel. I can shovel out my 8x16' coop in a hurry with it. I'm using the deep litter method also, Cleaning the coop twice a year.
Jack

 

[harleyjo]

Quote:
I use an old coal shovel. I can shovel out my 8x16' coop in a hurry with it. I'm using the deep litter method also, Cleaning the coop twice a year.
Jack

I am also doing it twice a year and then I add more shavings as it needs it. It just looked so nice when I got done today. I want it to stay like that forever!

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

I use an apple picker(horse folks know what I'm talking about) and a RTV 900. Makes short work out of coop cleaning chores. I deep clean my coops twice yearly. I just went today and got pick-up load of pine shavings...I know what I'm doing tomorrow...lol.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I'm waaaay too fussy for the deep-litter method myself, but I can't fathom an easy way to scoop out a whole winter's worth of chicken droppings and bedding, short of a back-hoe- that's a big coop!

Our winters get mighty cold here in New England too (particularly this past winter) and our girlz did just fine heat-wise without the added temps from deep-litter. If it's too burdensome to do the spring and fall coop cleaning, maybe you could re-think whether deep-litter is worth it for you. Just a thought.

I get the satisfaction of having a clean coop about once every 4-6 weeks with the non-deep-litter method! Highly recommend it. I had my DH out there today after I cleaned out the bedding with a leaf blower to "dust" for me. THAT only happens twice a year, I assure you!

 

[Wise Woman]

I feel your pain. We do the deep litter method over the winter because we have to. We got so much snow and rain this winter that it was impossible to get out there to do much other than feed and water. At one point the snow was so high we were lucky to get the door open enough so we could go in and out. No way I could have maneuvered my trash can and shovels out there. So I just kept adding more clean shavings over the old. It finally got nice enough to go out and give the coop a good cleaning. It is a lot of work though.

My solution to the problem. I am building a new coop and it will be raised and the doors will be right on the side walk going to our animal pen. As it is now, it sits on the ground with a cement floor. So with the new coop, I won't have to wait for snow to melt. I will be able to just open the coop doors (hubby keeps the sidewalk to the animal pen shoveled) sweep it out into a trash can and put in new. I will stick with wood shavings for the coop. They are getting a covered run as well this time and that will be close in during the winter months so snow and rain cannot get in. That will be filled with sand. It is going to be so much easier for us once this done. They will still have access to the big pen as well, but come winter, I am sure they will stay in the covered run.

 

[bburn]

Questions:

Sweet PDZ?
RTV900?
Apple Picker?

 

[mountaintopchicken]

Slightl easier way:

Line floor with tarps. If the coop is big use more than one, so not too much litter ends up on top of each tarp, because you are going to use the tarps to move the litter. When cleaning time comes, use one of those little 5 x 5 lawn tarps with the drawstring to shovel a bunch of the bedding on to and drag to your compost area. When you have removed enough bedding so that the tarps underneath have an amount of bedding you are capable of dragging out, drag out the remaining bedding on the tarps. It's still not easy, in my large coop it's fairly backbreaking, but it's the fastest easiest method I've got. Someone needs to develop a coop cleaning robot.