- Jul 10, 2015
- 163
- 29
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Hi all,
I am new to raising chickens. I have 5 Polish that are 6 weeks old and they have moved in to a cheap store bought coop. I definitely cannot do deep litter inside the house. So I choose to clean the poop every morning (not hard to do!), shift the fine pine shaving, add a bit more if neeeded, done. Did I do it right?
Secondly, about the run. I make a little "ditch" by surrounding the rectangular area right below the coop with bricks. Then i filled the bricks with Top Soil, Sand, mixed with ash and DE. Spread the mixture, step on it to make it compact, sprinkle some fine pine shaving, done. Then I put coop on top of that brick "pool".
The chickies LOVE it. They dust bathed right away!
Question. My neighbor who also has chickens, has sand on her brick "pool" (she gave me that brick pool idea). She raked the poop every morning, and yes easier to spot on sand. However, I chose dirt because I did a lot of research on sand vs dirt for run ground material, and yes while sand is easy to clean and convenient, it is not as beneficial in terms of parasites, good bacterias, for worms to live, bugs for food etc. i chose the inconvenient route for the sake of my chickens. And honestly, the run smells so good, like fresh earth.
But, it is HARD to spot the poop!!!!
I think the chickens did a good job mixing the manure into the dirt and they already blended by the time I come for my daily routine.
Is this bad???? Is leaving poop or let the poop blend with dirt bad??? What should I do???? My biggest worry is to have my darlings infested with lice or mites.... I want to keep the chickens healthy and clean as possible so I don't have to worry about critters crawling on my arms when I want to cuddle them. But, it is seriously hard to spot poop on the dirt.
Can anybody please help me, give me advice on how to give the best life for my chickens, a.k.a maintaining the coop, prevent parasites, prevent lice and mites?
Have I done things right????
Thank you soooo much!!!!
I am new to raising chickens. I have 5 Polish that are 6 weeks old and they have moved in to a cheap store bought coop. I definitely cannot do deep litter inside the house. So I choose to clean the poop every morning (not hard to do!), shift the fine pine shaving, add a bit more if neeeded, done. Did I do it right?
Secondly, about the run. I make a little "ditch" by surrounding the rectangular area right below the coop with bricks. Then i filled the bricks with Top Soil, Sand, mixed with ash and DE. Spread the mixture, step on it to make it compact, sprinkle some fine pine shaving, done. Then I put coop on top of that brick "pool".
The chickies LOVE it. They dust bathed right away!
Question. My neighbor who also has chickens, has sand on her brick "pool" (she gave me that brick pool idea). She raked the poop every morning, and yes easier to spot on sand. However, I chose dirt because I did a lot of research on sand vs dirt for run ground material, and yes while sand is easy to clean and convenient, it is not as beneficial in terms of parasites, good bacterias, for worms to live, bugs for food etc. i chose the inconvenient route for the sake of my chickens. And honestly, the run smells so good, like fresh earth.
But, it is HARD to spot the poop!!!!
I think the chickens did a good job mixing the manure into the dirt and they already blended by the time I come for my daily routine.
Is this bad???? Is leaving poop or let the poop blend with dirt bad??? What should I do???? My biggest worry is to have my darlings infested with lice or mites.... I want to keep the chickens healthy and clean as possible so I don't have to worry about critters crawling on my arms when I want to cuddle them. But, it is seriously hard to spot poop on the dirt.
Can anybody please help me, give me advice on how to give the best life for my chickens, a.k.a maintaining the coop, prevent parasites, prevent lice and mites?
Have I done things right????
Thank you soooo much!!!!
