So... much... poo...

[redhen]

i'm glad you asked this question...i'm just about to install my perches...and i need advice also...i must say..that is one CUTE coop!..and did i see chicken wallpaper boarder!?...OMG!!..too cute!..Wendy

 

[cjeanean]

BE CAREFUL WITH LIME!!! I seem to remember a post on here about how it's okay to use with some livestock but not on chickens/ducks. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong, but CHECK INTO IT FIRST, cause it would suck really bad if you put all ur chickens out there and they got sick and died after a few months!!! Honestly, my coop is COVERED in poop, but I rake and turn the litter to make sure it all dries out (search deep litter method-BYC FAQ) and add some here and there. The run is a disaster, a mud hole when it rains and a dust/poop mix when it's sunny. They've eaten all the grass, I'm still trying to figure out what they pick at all day!!! Just try letting it all dry out, I know it's not pretty but shavings are expensive and it's more of a hassle than you need!

 

[Davaroo]

That coop is too nice! I love it. You really went all out (as in you maybe went overboard before you knew what you were in for...?

)
It certainly gets major cute points. Whoever built it has got it going on.

Bad smelly means you gotta clean out the litter or rake it, lime it and cover it with more. This is called the deep litter method and is something you should look into.

Someone else noted the first thing I did - no vents. Ventilation is crucial. Everything from mold and fungus to lung disorders can result without it. Chicken housing should be "airy" unless you live in the arctic and you need good turnover of the interior air volume. Cut some plentiful vents in there, get screens on those windows and open 'er up...

Definitely do removable dropping pits. These are slide out drawers that go under the roosts, which you remove out the side for cleaning. And eliminate the rafter roosting. You gotta control chickens if you want to control their wastes. Letting them roost wherever only makes more work for you.

Finally, the birds need to stay outside except to sleep and lay eggs. Permanently sited coops should offer enough secure space for roosting and laying and little else. Basically, they should be off limits until dusk. Feed and water them outside during the day.

Mine live in a fresh air tractor-style house, in an enclosed pen area. I have about 100 sq ft per bird total and the coop is mobile, moving from area to area. This lets the earth help me eliminate the poo. Im a firm believer in "Fewer Birds Are More."

In our rush to have chickens, something often glossed over is the "poo problem." You have followed the "4 sq ft Rule" and now feel what it really means. It actually evolved from the modern commercial business and is intended for roosting/laying coop space only. It is one of the most cited "Rules" and does most of us, and our chickens, a dis-service.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

This weekend will be week 2 in the coop/run for the Delightful Dozen who will be 6 weeks old over the weekend. Every 3 to 4 days I have added more pine shavings and stirred them up. It is not wet or messy or stinky. I plan on either composting or mulching with what I take out this weekend and then starting again. We don't have a large coop and getting a Dozen hens is definitely over what we first expected to live in the coop and run, and wouldn't you know it, not a roo in the bunch LOL.

 

[antiquebuff]

I use DE and keep it stirred up and have very little smell, but mine are in the run during the day and just go in the eat , drink and sleep, also hopefully to lay in another month.
If they stay in more you will have more odor problems. Good luck!

and I love your coop ! Wonderful Work!

 

[Nugget]

Thanks so much for the advice and comments! As for vents, the window does open and there is an electric bathroom fan that moves a decent amount of air. I don't live in the arctic, but close (j/k) I'm in Nova Scotia and we have really cold winters here. I can leave the fan on, the window open and let air through in the warmer months.

I gave a half-baked attempt at deep litter once, but bailed on it and have been using scant litter which absorbs nothing. I'll definately be more generous with wood chips. I'll have to brood about deep litter a bit more.

I think I will get rid of the rafters. I worry about the dorks when they come tumbling down from there in the morning. They hit the floor like sandbags. Then, whether or not I actually make a manure pit, the area below the bleachers will be the poop hot spot, and I can 'spot clean' the coop when necessary, or make some sort of container. I'll have to look around some more at how to set something up.

Would it make more sense to have a droppings board under the bleachers rather than a pit? Something they can walk underneath and be wasy to scrape down daily or something along those lines?

I am anticipating having 6 or 7 hens in the end and we may or may not be keeping our rooster so hopefully things will be manageable. Gonna have to drop over to the neighbours with some eggs one of these days and find out how loud he sounds from their house

 

[dlhunicorn]

Quote:
If that were my coop I would be using a course sand...that way raking the top would be much easier to clean.

 

[Nugget]

SAND! That's a really interesting idea!
Would you buy traction sand from a hardware store?

 

[Chirpy]

I think what really makes the difference in how people's chickens coop smell or don't smell is the humidity/moisture of the area they live in.

I'm in Colorado and we seldom have high humidity. It's a pretty dry state. We do get quite a bit of moisture though.

I used the deep litter method for my first year (I've had these sweet chirps for over a year now) and it worked great. People that come to visit always mention that they cannot believe there is no smell .. I mean no smell. I started out with about three inches of wood shavings on the floor last year and ended up with close to 15-18 inches last week when I did my first total clean out. I used a shovel through the winter to turn the shavings every couple of weeks. Plus, I threw a handful of scratch down inside the hen house every night and the girls loved digging for that, so they helped turn it also.

You might want to give the DLM a try this year and see if it works. If not.. good luck with whatever you chose to do.

 

[Davaroo]

Thanks so much for the advice and comments! As for vents, the window does open and there is an electric bathroom fan that moves a decent amount of air. I don't live in the arctic, but close (j/k) I'm in Nova Scotia and we have really cold winters here. I can leave the fan on, the window open and let air through in the warmer months.
Back in the old days much work was done at the Maine ag-stations to further the knowledge. Ventilation was keen there, too. In the winter, you only need to prevent freezing temps. Get some vents that can be adjusted, perhaps?

I think I will get rid of the rafters. I worry about the dorks when they come tumbling down from there in the morning. They hit the floor like sandbags.
"Dorks" being what they are, they dont know that plummeting from heights is hard on their leg joints. They cant develop much braking power in a coop so sort of fall like, well, sandbags. Aptly put.

Would it make more sense to have a droppings board under the bleachers rather than a pit?
I'd envision a hybrid. Make a tray - not really a pit, not really a board. The trouble with boards is they have to be scraped often, even daily. That's a bother for you.
Pits you allow to fill up for months and then - dare I say it? - you must muck them out.
A sliding tray, 3" or so in depth, would incoporate the better of both plans, probably giving you a week or so before needing cleaning. And it will still allow them floor space to walk underneath.
I like Dianas sand idea, but wonder about it's insulating value. You are in the Maritimes, after all. Maybe you could do both: a layer of litter on bottom for insulation and then an inch or so of sand.

Gonna have to drop over to the neighbours with some eggs one of these days and find out how loud he sounds from their house.
Good plan!