Keeping a clean coop...

[BantyChooks]

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.

X2, it makes springs even more miserable than they already are.

 

[HopeSprings]

I made poop board trays filled with sand (1 1/2 to 2" deep) that I sift out daily -- like my own little beach! The poop board square footage is about half of the coop square footage, so the pine shavings so far have stayed pretty clean. When it is time to clean, I can open a window at floor level and just push it all out into the wheelbarrow. Vinyl flooring covers the floor and the walls to chicken head height (on roosts), again aiding in keeping the Chick Inn clean!

 

[aart]

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 would LOVE to see these!
Do you have a thread or article showing them and their construction?

 

[Sueby]

I use pine shavings, no poop board. I go in every day or 2 & turn the bedding & add more if needed. One selling point on getting chickens was for the compost, I figured I'd be cleaning the coop all the time (like I did with the horses) but I haven't had to. It doesn't smell or attract flies or anything despite the heat & humidity.

So at this rate I think I'll pull all the bedding out in the spring & fall & throw it in the run with the wood chips & then use maybe half of what's in the run for the compost. I'm amazed at how much the wood chips in the run have composted already in only 4 months. DH asked if I took the wood chips out & put in dirt. LOL

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Does anyone add any dirt to their pine shavings IN the coop?
(Over linoleum floor, not dirt.)

I don't see my compost pile full of shavings (and there was so many with Brooders this year) composting much at all. I think it needs more help with microbes.

 

[aart]

Does anyone add any dirt to their pine shavings IN the coop?
(Over linoleum floor, not dirt.)

No, do not try to compost in your coop.

I don't see my compost pile full of shavings (and there was so many with Brooders this year) composting much at all. I think it needs more help with microbes.

May need more 'green' stuff, and/or moisture.
Composting wood takes heat, which takes good green/brown/moisture balance...and some turning.

 

[igorsMistress]

My flock spends the afternoon in their coop with a mister and fan blowing through the door to provide some cool breezes. I use poop boards with pdz and sift daily, scrape the roosts and ramp. Deep litter on the floor is stirred by me once a week but the chickens do a good job of it daily. I do wet that once a week to promote breakdown and add dry material as needed.
I also vacuum my coop with a ShopVac once a week to get the dust out.
Once a year I've added cleaning out everything down to bare floors and give it a scrub with soap and hot water, then sanitize with Virkon S and let it dry out before whitewashing, putting in fresh litter and pdz.

I've learned that what works does, until it doesn't. Sanitizing is important in my opinion. Others may feel differently.

 

[Folly's place]

In dry Arizona, and with your coop, all that wetness must be fine for your coop. Here in damp Michigan, with an older wood coop, things would mold and rot away, and adding moisture to the coop would be bad!
Different environments may need to be managed differently.
There's no way it's possible to sanitize a wooden coop like mine, and many others. Clean out, yes, sanitize, no.
Mary

 

[aart]

I've learned that what works does, until it doesn't. Sanitizing is important in my opinion.

@igorsMistress Have you had diseases in your flock that made you go to these techniques?

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

i have sand on the floor of my roost coop...i have a cat litter scoop taped to a long handle and i scoop it every day.......i clean the run everytime i am out there.....