Need tips for cleaning coop and run

[jdgbirds31]

I feel like there must be a secret poop cleaning tool out there that will make my life so much easier - please help! We have 4 chickens and 4 guineas, all of which free range during the day. Our coop is the coop-over-run design, with an open floor in the coop and then the run is about 5'x10'. I've been using lawn clippings for the run floor which starts out very nice, everything smells fresh, etc., but by the end of a week or two, especially if it rains, it is like trying to rake up a soggy poop/grass carpet, I almost have to dig it up in spots. I know I should get a metal rake to help, but maybe I should just switch to sand? The parts of the run that aren't under the coop are not covered and I don't think I can cover it without making it, well, ugly. Too clean the coop and ramp I just hose it down - should I be doing something else? My only other thought is to just rake the obvious poop on top of the matted down grass and then just add fresh grass on top, but not sure if that will be bad for the birds since it does get wet from rain so it is not exactly in-line with the deep litter method. Any suggestions would be great - thanks!!!

 

[ronmauldin]

I use pine shavings inside the coop and run. Deep litter method in the run. I clean out the coop once a week and put the used litter in a composted for the garden. I just stir up the run with a rake once a week and add more shavings when the lower levels compost. Never had any problems.

Lawn clippings are going to be messy and smell as they break down. They will also hold a lot of moisture and be muddy, as you have found out.

 

[jdgbirds31]

Thanks! So it is ok to do deep litter even though it gets wet? That would make things so much easier!

 

[ronmauldin]

Unless you have a bad drainage problem around your coop, you should be fine. The top layers dry out very fast once the sun comes out. I put French drains under my run/coop before I built them, just as an extra precaution. That's because it sits on the low side of my property.

 

[jdgbirds31]

Great... thanks for your help!

 

[RonP]

Put lots of browns (hay, straw, old leaves,wood chips, and sawdust ) to offset your greens (green grass clippings, manure, table scraps).

Mix these together to form a pile with an average C/N ratio of 25-to-1 to 30-to-1, and you'll be well on your way to beautiful compost in no time with your flock turning the pile.

Wet is good, soaking wet is bad, good drainage is essential.