Taken into consideration...coop cleaning!

[shakecc]

We are plan our coop which we are getting ready to build. We are new chicken owners and this is our first coop. I am trying to get a idea of how people go about cleaning there coops out and what we should take into to consideration.

I noticed that some people have been adding a laminate floor to aid in cleaning. Do you strip the shavings off and clean/disinfect the floor and if so how often. Just trying to get a realistic idea of the level of cleanliness that is used to to keep a happy and healthy coop!

Thanks in advance!

 

[arlee453]

If you have a floor in the coop, then covering the floor with lineoleum or laminate is the way to go to make it easy to shovel out the bedding.

If you live in a warmer area, you might want to consider raised coops if you don't already have yours built. I think they are great IF your hens don't have to stay in them for long periods of time due to cold weather, etc. I think it'd be hard on their feet to be on the wire all the time.

My coops all are raised with wire floors, but we live in a warm area with very few truly cold nights here, and the girls don't stay in the coops at all - they go in at night, straight to the roost bars, and then out again at first daylight.

The wire makes it easy to clean up - I sweep out everything with a push broom, get a hoe in gently after anything really crusty to break it up, then shovel up what has fallen through under the coop into the wheelbarrow. Last, a good hose down with the sprayer end in warm weather and the cleaning's done! Also, it cuts down on the expense of having to buy pine shavings or other bedding, and is less to haul away, too.

Welcome to the board and enjoy your chickens!!

 

[Wildsky]

Very exciting!

I have dirt floors, so I don't have to scrub and clean linoleum or anything. I do add shavings, and use the deep litter method (KINDA) cause I never really add a ton of it, before I removed some and add more..

Make sure your doors are also raised a little, so the shavings don't just fall out. (same with the chicken door, slightly raised so nothing falls out)

GOOD LUCK

 

[Oblio13]

We have two coops. My favorite one is made as light as possible. It's still around 200 pounds, but it has handles and two guys can pick it up. There's no floor. Every now and then, we just move it - no cleaning at all.

 

[al6517]

I also have dirt floors, but my coop and runs are pretty big, i use grass clippings in the summer and straw hay in the winter, when needed i just rake it up and add it to the compost pile for use in the garden, then just spray it out well with a disefectant and then re-apply more hay or clippings. they love the grass and hay, they stay real busy scratching and finding bugs to munch on. it really is an easy way for me to keep it clean.

 

[USMCSGT]

I wouldn't put a laminate down, the water will make it separate. Vinyl would be your best bet, it can hold up to a lot of water. Good Luck

 

[LynneP]

We have plank over concrete. I sweep the pine shavings under the roosts to get maximum use of them, put clean ones elsewhere, then shovel or brush the soiled ones into a cleaning bucket to remove to the manure pile behind the barn or to use directly in the garden.

Droopings seem nice and dry, coop smells clean, sort of like pungent bread baking, but no hint of ammonia.

We have a window, pop doors and a large door to assist in freshening the air space. We also use DE on the floor and an occasional sprinkling of 'Stable Boy'. Our waterers and feeders are on a raised stand to prevent puddling/leaking.

 

[ChickenCop]

I use a tarp. I tacked the tarp around the edges of the walls about 18 in up from the floor (kinda looks like a pool liner) and also attached one behind the roost. When it gets covered with droppings I pull it out and spray it down with a hose.

I have a 16x20 on the floor covered with pine shavings and behind the roost I have a 8 x8 tarp I just unhook and clean it up takes me about 10 mins to hose it down.

Hope this helps with your ideas!

 

[2dream]

I have 2 coops. One with vinyl (small coop). About 8' of floor space for my silkes. It is an A-frame construction so relatively small. I clean every other month. Takes about 10 minutes with the shovel. On the month I don't clean I add pine shavings.

2nd coop is large. We converted an old out building into a coop. I just threw pine shavings on the floor. Since it is so large and the chickens only roost there (we have a very large run), plus they free range on the weekends I have yet to have to even clean or add shavings. They have been in it about a month.

It will depend greatly on how many chickens you have and how much time they spend there.

I also just got my food grade DE. I will be adding it to the shavings as well. I am hoping that will allow me to add a month to my Silkie House. But hey 10 min every other month is not that big of a deal.

ChickenCop - love that tarp idea. Now I know what goes on the floor of my large shed. We just could not justify buying vinyl for that large a space.
Plus it looks like we may not have to clean it often.

 

[needmorechickens!]

Hey the tarp is a great idea!!

I had been trying to find some cheep vinyl and couldn't find it...I don't know why I didn't think of that!

Thanks for sharing
~Rebecca