keeping the coop clean

[orcasislandchickens]

I know this is simple but especially for a small coop the secret is to keep it clean and dry. I use pine shavings. I clean the droppings from under the roost daily, and change out the bedding altogether weekly. My coop does not smell. The run is covered sand. I give it a cleaning weekly as well. Later this spring I will have to add a little fresh sand to top it up as some of the sand has been scooped off with the poo.

With a small operation here in the PNW it is best to "just do it" because it doesn't take much to smell and like others pointed out damp makes it worse.

 

[chookchick]

Shavings with stall-dri or a similar product. It is a mixture of fine clay (like kitty litter) with DE, and does wonders to keep things dry. I live in the PNW and the coop is dry as a bone and does not smell. ETA--it doesn't take much, I just throw a few handfuls in with every litter change.

 

[cyrixlord]

we use the plex decking that is suspended in the middle of our coop. every morning i use a brush and brush off any poo. it will fall in between the slats. the slats are totally removable and slidable. The poo falls into a 'deep pile' of pine shavings and/alfalfa that they cannot access which dries the poo out. once a month or so, the poo/shavings go into the composter.

no smell! but then again I only have 3 chickens. I live next to neighbors though.

this is my coop if you're interested.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=10913-austracoop

 

[Anny]

I'll some times add Stall Dry to the chicken bedding to dry out the poop and get rid of any smell.

I also spot scoop out under their roosts as that is where they poop the most.

 

[Mahonri]

I have a linoleum floor and we use DE w/ pine shavings. I wish I had put drop boards under the roosts but it would have made the coop a clutter... so we just put more shavings and DE under the roosts.

We sweep and mop every week.

 

[grateful]

What is DE everyone keeps referring to?

 

[NJbirdlover]

Quote:
It's diaotomaceus earth - not sure if I spelled that right or not but I gave it a try
anyway DE is fossilized hard-shelled algae and sedimentary rock. It is a good for keeping buggies at bay.
hope this helped