Official BYC Poll: How Often Do You Clean Your Coop?

[Inkisevidence]

I put sand in the coop about five months ago and I’ve never looked back. I have a large litter scoop that I go in with each morning and spend about 30 seconds scooping poop just like cat litter. It’s so fast, clean, and easy. 8 chickens is not a lot, but I can see this working with any number of chickens. I will rotate out the sand for fresh sand in another month or so. It’s also wonderful when it’s raining outside and their feet get super muddy, they come in and can dry off and dust bathe in the coop.

 

[Inkisevidence]

every ten days for me, poop goes right into a sitting compost pile

I’d love to hear more about how you compost with continual addition of poop. I’m just starting a compost and I’m trying to learn more about how people deal with the daily scooping and where they put it before creating the hot pile.

 

[dawg53]

Would you mind posting a few pics of your coop? Inside pics and outside pics? Pleeeease??

Here are photos with sand inside my coops. As a matter of fact, I'm refreshing coops and pens with sand this coming Monday and Tuesday.
The first 2 pics are inside the carport coop. The 3rd and 4th pics are inside the shed coop (split in half for 2 different groups of chickens.) The last coop is a smaller coop for 3 or 4 chickens.

 

[BarnyardNCIS]

View attachment 2583103​

It's not a pleasant part of keeping chickens, but it's one we must all deal with regardless: poop. How often do you clean your coop out? Don't include pens in your answer, just your coop or coops. Do you find it easy or difficult to clean them out? What changes to your coop design or technique would you make to improve the process?

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

I top off the floor wood chips and replace the chips in the nesting boxes every few weeks (have only six chickens). Once or twice a year I power wash with just water, the whole inside of the coop, but only on hot days here in the northeast.

 

[Pioneertown mama]

I clean my 4 coops early each morning. What makes easy cleaning is sand. Simply scoop the poop and put it in a bucket and dispose of it. Done.
Other than building coops to withstand strong storms including cat 1 hurricanes, ease of cleaning coops was a priority. It takes me about 30 minutes to clean out coops each morning.

I also use sand in the winter with about 4-6 inches of sand over a old throw rug. I clean about every other day "or so" I rake it into a pile and I use a cat litter scoop and remove the poop. I have only 6 hens all white leghorns and their coop in raised off the ground filling about 1/4 of the chicken run. {for shade in summer} Anyway I have 1/2 inch mesh screen section nailed into the bottom with ply wood board that fits into the screen cutout that I can remove for summer for air flow. Then I don't use sand I just use a hoe and put the poop in a bucket.

 

[Dhkoenig]

I shockingly enjoy cleaning out the coop. Typically once a week or every other week.

OMG me too on the enjoying it part

 

[old chickady]

I pick out their dirty or wet shavings daily, scrap the roost boards daily and wipe any wet messy areas off the walls when they are wet. I try to deep clean once the weather turns 60 degrees in the spring and again in the late fall. I use artificial turf nest pads in the nests and I shake those out every morning and wash with soap and water if they are dirty or if an egg breaks. I use mini wood shavings for bedding and I have concrete walls and floors in the coop with a double hung window and 2 non-opening windows for light and ventilation. Last coop was double heavy duty vinyl and the mice ate like 1000 holes in it, then the black snakes came in. YUK!
2 cats later and a concrete floored coop, solved the mouse and snake issue.
Next on my wish list would be an automatic door opener. In the spring and summer I do place feed and water in their outside run, in the winter ( below 30 degrees) I keep food and water inside the coop also.

 

[Dhkoenig]

I clean mine every morning but I am a but crazy. I climb into the coop and I use a little shovel and pick up each one into a bag. I even turn the cedar around and look for hidden pieces of it. I like being in there with the ladies and I love that the coop smells fresh all the time. I do same with the run.

 

[Dhkoenig]

I pick out their dirty or wet shavings daily, scrap the roost boards daily and wipe any wet messy areas off the walls when they are wet. I try to deep clean once the weather turns 60 degrees in the spring and again in the late fall. I use artificial turf nest pads in the nests and I shake those out every morning and wash with soap and water if they are dirty or if an egg breaks. I use mini wood shavings for bedding and I have concrete walls and floors in the coop with a double hung window and 2 non-opening windows for light and ventilation. Last coop was double heavy duty vinyl and the mice ate like 1000 holes in it, then the black snakes came in. YUK!
2 cats later and a concrete floored coop, solved the mouse and snake issue.
Next on my wish list would be an automatic door opener. In the spring and summer I do place feed and water in their outside run, in the winter ( below 30 degrees) I keep food and water inside the coop also.

Tell me about the roost boards. So you put new ones in each day? What do you use? Do you just chuck them in the garbage? Need to know!!!

 

[old chickady]

I clean out the coop once a year. Whether it needs it or not!
The poop boards are cleaned every morning. The floor of my coop gets very little poop in the bedding as the birds go out to the run as soon as they come off the roost and wait there for me to release them.
When winter really bears down, they will spend more time hunkered down in the bedding of the coop.View attachment 2583454
I'll be doing a cleaning next month. It'll get hit with a spray down of Elector PSP when I've emptied it and before I bed it down.

nicely laid out coop!