Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Your Coop Smelling Fresh?

[TheFarm41]

We have three coops: Big Coop (12'X12' walk-in). And two smaller mobile coops for when the chickens are out on pasture in the nicer weather.

In the Big Coop we use deep mulch bedding. Wood chips, wood chips and more wood chips to the rescue. Coop is covered, and dry but not too dry, you want some moisture so the poop and wood chips will compost. Haven't cleaned the coop in two years, doesn't stink. The wood chips are mostly broken down now, before fall we plan to strip the bedding, add it to the compost pile and start again.

The Mobile coops have wire bottoms and are built on a trailer. The idea was to have the poop fall through the wire mesh to fertilize the pasture. The coops should be moved every 2-3 days to not burn the grass. This works pretty well, but some of the poop gets hung up on the trailer axle and edge and that can get a little stinky. We hose it off, but not often enough.

Does anyone have any tricks/tips on how to keep mites to a minimum? We get mites from time to time in the nesting box of our mobile coops. Seems like we get a mite infestation after someone goes broody and sits in the nesting boxes for too long.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Does anyone have any tricks/tips on how to keep mites to a minimum? We get mites from time to time in the nesting box of our mobile coops. Seems like we get a mite infestation after someone goes broody and sits in the nesting boxes for too long.

Broodies are prone to picking up parasites because they're stationary and not usually great at taking time to dust bathe properly as they normally would.

Have you treated the birds and coop thoroughly with permethrin?

 

[chicksandponies]

Deep litter method, dirt floors and very well ventilated. About once a month I hose it all down in the inside to knock down the dust and help the compost along. I live in a dry climate, I can go over a year without cleaning out the bedding. It never smells.

I love deep bedding! No smell...always dry.

 

[chicksandponies]

Broodies are prone to picking up parasites because they're stationary and not usually great at taking time to dust bathe properly as they normally would.

Have you treated the birds and coop thoroughly with permethrin?

DE in bedding, although can't use with deep bedding because it kills the good bugs that compost

 

[rosemarythyme]

DE in bedding, although can't use with deep bedding because it kills the good bugs that compost

DE's not going to kill off roost or fowl mites reliably.

If TheFarm41 really has an infestation it needs to be cleared up first and foremost, microbes and such in soil can be built back up.

 

[Lorimary]

Deep litter method but I always remove large droppings each day. I also mix a few drops of clove oil with a quart of water and spray the wood in the henhouse once a month. My neighbor also brings me rose petals that I sprinkle into their run.

 

[Lorimary]

Deep litter with the large droppings removed every day. I mix dried lavender into the litter and I also mix a few drops of clove oil in a quart of water and spray the wood in the henhouse. My neighbor brings me rose petals that I sprinkle into the litter in the run.

 

[gtaus]

Dry deep litter primarily of wood chips. Fluff it up every so often. Will throw on another layer of wood chips as needed. Plan is to clean everything out once in late fall before the snow comes, and then in spring after the snow melts. Got behind the cleaning this spring but the coop still smells fine. Deep litter with wood chips is the best way I have found to keep things clean and fresh.

 

[Samoeng Guy]

River sand in coop and runs. Scoop poop daily using kitty litter scoop.
Five minutes max. Lots of ventilation.

Don’t all chicken runs have a papaya and Sapota tree ?

 

[Maggie13]

Clean the coop daily!
For most of the year my girls free range so their run area is clean.( only snow stops them from wanting to leave the tractor )
If the enclosed run becomes soiled with their manure I simply move the tractor to fresh grass.