SMALL coop owners!

[egordanier]

I am building my first coop and it is fairly small 3ft x 5ft and about 3ft off the ground. 2 windows for ventilation and a door with a ramp. My biggest question is how to finish it without making it impossible to clean. Looking at the pictures of small coops, I wonder how they clean these small coops. I read the discussion on using the horse stall refresher in poop boards under roosting bars. My coop is small enough I wonder if I could use that on the entire floor and have bedding in my nesting boxes, but I don't have a large door that I can actually get into the coop. So, small coop owners!! What's your design and HOW do you clean your small coops??

 

[Teila]

Howdy egordanier

I have a small kit coop with a chicken door and two windows. The side removes completely for easy cleaning access. So you could design it so a side panel can be removed or hinge it so it drops down.

 

[lynnehd]

My coop is about 4 x 4'. My chickens have 24/7 access to a very secure run, with daytime access to a larger run area that is netted.

I use Stall dry on the floor of my coop, (vinyl floor).. My roost is set up over the nesting boxes which have a slanted roof or 'poop board', covered with vinyl. There is a second perpendicular roost that extends out over the floor of the coop, but they prefer the first one.
I scatter a little Stall Dry over the 'poop board' and it stays.
This makes cleaning the coop about a 3 minute job: scrap the roosts and poop board into a bucket and use a kitty litter scoop for the coop floor.

I also have a side door that is flush with the floor which does make cleaning easier, too, I agree.

BTW, my run has a sand base with some Stall Dry in it. I have scattered some pine needles in there, which they like scratching in.