never do this.... re:hay in coop

[klf73]

we get pretty cold here in Maine in the winter so we insulated our coop. Well, one of the guys in dh's unit told him before winter to put hay down(we had shavings) in layers and it will help insulate the coop. So, since he has had chickens his whole life we figured we would try it this past winter. Dh got deployed in October and I had my son adding layers as I was pregnant and couldn't get up into the coop. I waited till after I gave birth to go clean it out. I will NEVER do that again. The hay is like tangled hair! I had such a hard time removing it, the coop is 8x10 and it took me FOREVER to empty. I went to the feed store and bought pine shavings and won't ever use hay except for the nesting boxes (girls prefer it). Should have asked on here before doing it

 

[tammyd57]

Did you use hay or straw? Because I use straw and don't have any problems with it. It breaks down and is really easy to rake out of my coop.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

And it's smelly too. We will never use straw or hay only pine becuase its just SO much better and yes, my girls prefer it also...better to dust bathe in

 

[ArizonaNessa]

The straw or hay can hold moisture underneath as well creating a wonderful place to grow molds which can cause respiratory problems. I only use pine shavings on the floor and I use either alfalfa or bermuda hay in the nest boxes only.

 

[Lensters]

I did DLM with hay in one coop last year and my son told me he will move out before he will clean out a mess like that again. We ended up using an edger to cut it up enough to get chunks out.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I threw in one bale once - never again
It smelled and attracted every critter under the sun

 

[klf73]

Quote:
wish I had one to use

I had a rake and dh had shortened the ceiling to hold heat better so I had to pull it all apart while I was bent over. My back was KILLING me and I don't have back problems

 

[klf73]

Quote:
funny thing is the pine shavings that we had started with were still clean and dry

under all that crap

 

[downhome]

I don't know, I like either in the coop. hay is nice if I can get a good price the birds will actually eat some of it I noticed the feed goes farther after a cleaning! I'm sure they find a little nutrition in the straw too just not as much.

sure you guys are not waiting to long to clean out the coop?

second question is are you using the right tool?

shovels not good at all, and a rake is possible but not ideal. the best tool for that kind of bedding/litter is a pitch fork. you never see a shovel sitting next to a haystack do you? there's a reason.

I designed my coop to be easy clean but after deep litter all winter, I did need to get the pitchfork out and lighten the load.

let me explain my easy clean concept. ever tarp your leaves up in the fall, you know rake them all on a tarp then drag said tarp to compost pile or woods or where ever you can dump them that they are no longer a problem.

well that basically how my coop is setup. it started out as a way to protect the wood floor then the leaf/tarp idea happened.
I had a big sheet of rubber roofing , Ive seen people use linoleum and vinyl floor but that really isn't to durable and less so in the cold.
well I will share with you that the rubber is ideal! heavy enough to lay down on its own, impervious to water and damp, and flexible durable even on a cold day!

when I built the coop I designed it with a double door on the lower back half of the coop. (still have to make the doors right now I just screw/unscrew the sheathing that will be the doors. this is a year latter.) anyways that opens up then I just drag my rubber liner and litter out and to the compost pile. which is placed strategically close to the back of the coop. think its less then 10 foot away.

takes a whole of 10 minutes tops!

I took the saying to use my head rather then my back very seriously, not that I mind working but I prefer enjoyable and productive work! theres another very poignant saying that goes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

 

[underground chickenman]

Tough to be a thick layer of pine shavings. I have to believe pine shavings provide better insulation than straw or hay. Just a hunch though.

UGCM