Keeping a clean coop...

[Jealous Gypsy]

Hi Mary,
Very similar here, i have 28 chickens plus 3 ducks plus 6 turkeys plus 7 guineas. I use straw on a dirt floor. I also freerange so they arent in the run alot so the run isnt an issue just the coop. I use an old dustpan and scrape poo off roosts weekly. I just add more straw ( hubby said it breaks down not to scoop) Yes it smells, but i figure thats chicken life isnt it? I just found out our local store will not be carrying any more straw until fall, im drying out leaves for the time being. After the winter i will move the coop and make a garden there hopefully something will grow in this clay.
I was considering spraydown my coop with soluguard (from melaleuca) if anyone else uses this please let me know. Ive heard mixed things about using it with birds. I used it to disinfect brooders but i wash them off, in the coop its kinda impossible beings i use a hand pump for water and that would be a huge job.
Thanks yall

I have anywhere from 35 to 50 chickens at any time, and daily poo scooping isn't going to happen here! No sand in the run or coop, no poop boards, nothing that takes that kind of daily effort. Lazy! And with deep and dry bedding, it's still okay.
Mary

 

[aart]

I have anywhere from 35 to 50 chickens at any time, and daily poo scooping isn't going to happen here!

I'll bet!....and another reason I'm glad my housing won't hold that many.

The floor is old concrete, with cracks, covered mostly with rubber stall mats. It's easier to shovel out that way, and has worked to keep dampness out too.

Wonders, what's under those mats? Do you look when shoveling out?

I think for those of us who aren’t farmers, the amount of poop comes as a shock. And as the chicks grow, they poop more and more!

One of the funniest things I've heard here is folks overwhelmed with the amount of chicks poops....I tell them wait until they start laying, the poop size triples! Another equation in Chicken(poop)Math

 

[Folly's place]

aart, under the mats does get looked at, and it's not moldy. Rodent tunnels have been a problem; one coop section has a new concrete floor because of that! Tearing out the whole thing is low on our project list...
Mary

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I'm definitely more relieved the more posters chime in haha!


My flock has been on coop lock up for several days. Between fox hunting and no eggs, the poop is piling up more than usual!
Gave the favorite nest boxes a nice make over. My only guaranteed layer seemed impressed. Chicks keep pooping up the others so figured those can just wait.


With pine shavings on floor, how does the floor look?
I'm unsure if im adding materials often enough.
I'm thinking about adding a dust bathe since they're locked up more often now.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I use pine shavings, and since I have just retired and have only 4 chickens, I sift through the shavings in the other spot where they like to hang out. But it really doesn't seem necessary. After five hours or so, the poop is trampled and dries out. But a more crowded coop (or bigger chickens - mine are 14 weeks) could get damp and smelly. I like to sprinkle some PDZ whenever i smell ammonia, which is rarely. (Sold as Coop Refresh, PDZ is zeolite, and neutralizes the ammonia. Very expensive. Also sold as Stall Refresh, for horses, the exact same product in a much larger quantity for essentially the same price!)

 

[BantyChooks]

I have a 12 x 12 coop with about 50 birds in it (fewer in winter.) I bed with pine shavings, but am attempting to get a dry deep litter going; I doubt the composting style will work in my climate (cold.) Pine shavings work well in summer, but I'm not a fan of how it solidifies in winter rather than staying workable. I think litter of varying diameters will help with that. I liked the bedding I had years ago better; it was made out of larger granule pine shavings and quite a bit of hay.
These pictures are of my old coop, but the new one looks similar on the inside and outside. The pine shavings are fresh in the picture. I couldn't find current images, or images of how the coop looks after a few months. I change the bedding twice, maybe three times per year.

With pine shavings on floor, how does the floor look?
I'm unsure if im adding materials often enough.

The linoleum floor itself stays clean, actually. Very little poop dries onto it.

 

[Alaskan]

Pine shavings work well in summer, but I'm not a fan of how it solidifies in winter rather than staying workable

I find the shavings only harden up when they get damp.

Is it humid where you live (which might be enough to get then to solidify), or is it just that my shavings are different from yours, and different shavings work that differently.

It is true, they would NOT work, if they were used as a poop catcher. But I have poo trays... so the floor stays pretty clean.

 

[BantyChooks]

I find the shavings only harden up when they get damp.

Is it humid where you live (which might be enough to get then to solidify), or is it just that my shavings are different from yours, and different shavings work that differently.

It is true, they would NOT work, if they were used as a poop catcher. But I have poo trays... so the floor stays pretty clean.

What little moisture that gets into the shavings before the poop turns into rocks seems to be enough to mat it down. No poop trays here. It also sleets quite a bit at the beginning of the cold season before the temperature dives... some gets in the coop, despite my best efforts to keep it cleaned out around that time of year.

 

[aart]

But I have poo trays... so the floor stays pretty clean.

Same here, even so, any poop in floor shavings(kiln dried bales used here) locks up.
...and after a thaw the humidity skyrockets and can lock up the shavings, at least temporarily, too.

 

[Kdlevesque]

My secret is linoleum in the coop with pine shavings. We had some leftover when we got our kitchen done. I am OCD about keeping the coop clean. My husband built a hinged back door that swings all the way open and I sweep everything thing out, weekly. The run, is a dirt floor but I like to use straw down there. I rake it out every 4 to 5 weeks and replace the straw. I dump all the old straw and shavings in our compost piles in the back. No problems with smell or flies! My husband is quite crafty when he built our coop. Very easy to clean. We have an automatic feeder with an auger you turn and fill from the outside and a neat pvc watering system that is also filled from the outside. I have told my husband he could make millions designing coops... ha ha but it took a year to build it so his answer was...NO