Keeping the inside of my coop dry/clean in winter

[sdm111]

I mean on the ground not in a coop. I must have misunderstood I thought they meant on the ground

 

[Beekissed]

We are in the middle of a messy, wet, coldy, rainy, snowy, freezing winter. Everyday the weather is a disaster. Today I checked out my group in their coop and it is wet and smelly from the amount of time they have been cooped-up. They can't/won't free-range in the bad weather, I try to encourage them to go out, but the reality is that they are inside ALOT. I am frequently pulling out the wet straw and as much of this mess as possible and replacing it with dry, but feel there must be more I can do. Does anyone have any ideas for keeping the inside of my coop drier? Sawdust or something like that maybe? Thanks!

Deep litter! A wonderful, cultured, absorptive layer of bedding that digests the manure so there are no smells even when things get wet from the weather.

 

[aart]

Deep litter! A wonderful, cultured, absorptive layer of bedding that digests the manure so there are no smells even when things get wet from the weather.

Not really applicable here I don't think, if you read thru the thread we've ascertained that the coop has a leak....and it a tractor coop....which leads me to ask:

How big is the coop and how many birds are in it?

 

[gilcamp4]

i did the dl in my coop and had to take it out this week it was so wet and also smelled, i had always done the chips and cleaned every few weeks, this winter was first i used the dl, i have 30 chickens in a camper


in the back we have 15 nesting boxes in the front when we have peeps we put a gate up right past the door

 

[Beekissed]

i did the dl in my coop and had to take it out this week it was so wet and also smelled, i had always done the chips and cleaned every few weeks, this winter was first i used the dl, i have 30 chickens in a camper


in the back we have 15 nesting boxes in the front when we have peeps we put a gate up right past the door

What materials did you use and how much ventilation did you provide? Ventilation, culturing it with some soils that have some good microbial life, using materials that absorb and break down well, encouraging bug life in the DL...all of these things make for better DL.

 

[Beekissed]

Not really applicable here I don't think, if you read thru the thread we've ascertained that the coop has a leak....and it a tractor coop....which leads me to ask:

How big is the coop and how many birds are in it?

Sure it's applicable....leaks? My whole coop is open air...meaning there is water coming in at all points, either blown in, dripped in or soaked in from the run off directly outside. Excess moisture can be managed and turned into something good if you have a good DL going on.

 

[gilcamp4]

What materials did you use and how much ventilation did you provide? Ventilation, culturing it with some soils that have some good microbial life, using materials that absorb and break down well, encouraging bug life in the DL...all of these things make for better DL.

this is an old camper which has 7 windows and a door plus sky lights that we keep opened a little, the door has a screen and we keep that open as weather lets us, we used wood chips and hey. it worked for 5 years but this year i think it was a lot to do with the weather.

 

[Beekissed]

this is an old camper which has 7 windows and a door plus sky lights that we keep opened a little, the door has a screen and we keep that open as weather lets us, we used wood chips and hey. it worked for 5 years but this year i think it was a lot to do with the weather.

Could be...we've had a lot of moisture in the air this winter and the cold seemed to hinder the digestion of the DL for a bit. It was the first time I had smelled chicken poop in this coop for over a year and that was on the coldest days! Soon as it warmed up the smell went away, go figure.

Could maybe culture that DL with some soil when you have the chance and see if the microbial life there will inoculate your bedding and start better digestion of the materials and fecal matter.

 

[aart]

Sure it's applicable....leaks? My whole coop is open air...meaning there is water coming in at all points, either blown in, dripped in or soaked in from the run off directly outside. Excess moisture can be managed and turned into something good if you have a good DL going on.

True....

DL (compost) can be a delicate balance to be effective...otherwise it's just a (sometimes stinky) pile of debris.

 

[Beekissed]

True....

DL (compost) can be a delicate balance to be effective...otherwise it's just a (sometimes stinky) pile of debris.

Can't be all that delicate....I have no time in maintaining it. Flip over some poop, add some material. That's about it. No additives needed more than that, really...just materials, moisture, turning in the poop, good airflow.