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

[Malamute1]

My coop is really a little too small for my peeps. TSC info said 8-10 hens. Chicken math, 9 came in my shipment from hatchery. Lol. I have buffs & ameraucanas. Good sized girls now. They will be 2yrs old next month. Last summer was too hot for them. My hubby took screened soffit vents and put 4 in the coop walls for more ventilation. Then he took the nest box door off and used it as a lid and made new boxes that are now extended off the end of coop. It gave them another 3'x18" and a 3rd roost. The coop is 2.5' to 3' off the ground and has a screen run that extends past the coop front and expands hight wise to 5'. Hubby also put wheels on it, so when the run gets yucky we move it. I use easy sift pine bedding in the coop and hay in the boxes. I litter scoop every day. I change out bedding & hay as needed. I also pressure wash whole coop about every couple months. The coop is a little snug, but the girls free range from dawn to dusk and are only in to sleep or use nest boxes. I have 2 water ers. 1.5 gal that hangs under coop & 5gal on cinder block in the yard under oak tree for shade. These are cleaned daily and washed n bleached as needed. My girls are healthy and happily destroying their grassed 98yd x 100yd fenced section of .25 acre dog yard. Guess its the animal yard now since they have half of it. Lol.

 

[Malamute1]

I make up funny songs to sing while scooping. And it goes fast. The Pullets usually join me to sing along, help re-arrange bedding, or supervise noisily.

My hens do the same thing, chirping, & helping, and supervising. A couple of them fuss n peck at my legs because they want snacks or pets.

 

[Malamute1]

I scoop out poop daily, takes about 5 minutes. I add pine shavings, lime, and PDZ as needed. The bedding gets completely removed maybe twice a year.

I completely clean the run about 3-4 times a year, scraping everything out and replacing the rice hull bedding out there, on a base layer of lime and DE.

That said, they spend very little time in the coop and run, mainly only to sleep and have breakfast, before they are let out into the yard.

What type of lime do you use?

 

[AntiqueB]

What type of lime do you use?

I use First Saturday lime. Be careful not to use hydrated lime, which is caustic.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

I should probably start to clean the coops out more.

 

[Joyann Poore]

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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!)

 

[Joyann Poore]

I clean the coop everyday. I have a black concrete container underneath the chickens perch and I push the chicken droppings in the container each morning and line the perch with cedar trimmings ro keep it smelling nice.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I clean the coop everyday. I have a black concrete container underneath the chickens perch and I push the chicken droppings in the container each morning and line the perch with cedar trimmings ro keep it smelling nice.

Nice! Although isn’t cedar toxic?

 

[aart]

Although isn’t cedar toxic?

It an cause respiratory irritation, best not to have it in the coop.

 

[we3ernes]

I clean my poop boards daily and it takes me about 5 minutes (currently have 10 hens). The coop itself gets cleaned out twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. I shovel all the chips out into the run to help deal with spring/fall rains, wipe down the surfaces with a water/vinegar solution, and try to get as much of the dust out as possible. We live in central Texas, so they are out in the run or barnyard most of the time and really only use the coop for roosting and laying.