tell me what your cleaning routine is!!

[mandelyn]

The duck side of the coop is 5x7 with shavings. I grab obvious poo, the wet spot in front of the water-catcher thing, and give it a stir since ducks flatten everything. With the drinking station catch pan, the bedding stays dry, no reason to clean out the whole thing.

Then I start the pool draining, we installed a valve system so that's easy. While it drains I grab the poo layer off the shavings in the run using a rake. Then I stir it up and add fresh, and sprinkle with DE and "sweat PDZ".

Flush out the pool, clear the drain, and refill it. While it refills I grab the waterers and set them up for a refill, and dump the pan from the watering station in the coop.

Refill and reset the drinkers, take everything to the compost pile. Usually I fill the 5 gallon bucket twice. I clean up once a day inside, 2-3 times a week in the run.

Mean while, it takes me a week to fill the 5 gallon bucket on the chicken side. LOL

Lastly I refill all the feed, and bring their treats out, while saying "go home"... and they march home like good little ducks.

After a rain I leave the bedding alone but spray it with "Nature's Cure" and that handles any ammonia smells without having to pull all the bedding out. About $3 worth of product eliminates the use of $10 worth of bedding. Great for when it's to rain several days in a row.

The goal of our system is to only remove the poo. We use pine shavings because it lasts longer than anything else without molding as quickly, if you keep it dry and stirred up. Keeps the compost from building up too fast with it.

 

[Billy-jean]

Wow,I love everyone's routines,,seem easy enough yet a definite chore to say the least!!
I like using DE as well,,I find it keeps the flies ect down,and dries things up nicely. I even sprinkle some on the ground every now and then outside in their enclosure on the sand,,and in the chickens coop. It also controls and keeps mites and lice lower, or to none! Which I love!!! )

 

[DuckiesAndBees]

I use the deep litter method with straw in their pen, which is a converted dog kennel. I put down straw every day or other day as needed and clean it out maybe 3-4 times a year. I do the same in their house except that it gets cleaned more often. I am planning on buying concrete patio blocks for the whole enclosure and covering those with sand and straw. The ducks will be mad that they can't dig holes, but once I get the pen really secure on all sides (add a better roof, solid floor, and hardware cloth up the sides), I can stop locking them in at night and they can happily sleep on the ground.

 

[Missy60]

The duck side of the coop is 5x7 with shavings. I grab obvious poo, the wet spot in front of the water-catcher thing, and give it a stir since ducks flatten everything. With the drinking station catch pan, the bedding stays dry, no reason to clean out the whole thing.
Then I start the pool draining, we installed a valve system so that's easy. While it drains I grab the poo layer off the shavings in the run using a rake. Then I stir it up and add fresh, and sprinkle with DE and "sweat PDZ".
Flush out the pool, clear the drain, and refill it. While it refills I grab the waterers and set them up for a refill, and dump the pan from the watering station in the coop.
Refill and reset the drinkers, take everything to the compost pile. Usually I fill the 5 gallon bucket twice. I clean up once a day inside, 2-3 times a week in the run.
Mean while, it takes me a week to fill the 5 gallon bucket on the chicken side. LOL
Lastly I refill all the feed, and bring their treats out, while saying "go home"... and they march home like good little ducks.
After a rain I leave the bedding alone but spray it with "Nature's Cure" and that handles any ammonia smells without having to pull all the bedding out. About $3 worth of product eliminates the use of $10 worth of bedding. Great for when it's to rain several days in a row.
The goal of our system is to only remove the poo. We use pine shavings because it lasts longer than anything else without molding as quickly, if you keep it dry and stirred up. Keeps the compost from building up too fast with it.

I did a search for natures cure and all that comes up is acne meds.

 

[billw]

I clean about once a month, maybe less. The ducks have an open shelter in a large run, so they don't poop in the shelter very much. The shelter has a dirt floor. Cleaning involves raking the straw out of the shelter and putting down new straw. The rest of the run is just dirt and it rains here frequently enough that nothing really builds up. If it has been dry and the ground looks messy, I hose it down (which the ducks love).

About once a week I cut a wheelbarrow full of tall green grass from along a fence and scatter it around the run. The ducks like to eat it and root around in it, plus it helps to prevent the ducks from turning everything into muck.

I drain and refill the pond about every three days. Less than that and it gets pretty nasty.

 

[zooweemama]

I have 14 ducks. A full on duck house- so I can totally stand in it. I layer straw on top and then once a month clean it out and lay fresh down. We cart the dirty hay and sprinkle it under the fruit trees and around our yard. We do not have grass...just a brown weedy field. LOL So I am curious what all this yummy duck poo will do to our giant dead yard.

Daily chores: empty waterers, rinse and let sit out to try during the day. Fill up 2 kiddie pools and 1 drinking tub. We change these out 4-6 times a day. My 10 year old helps during the day and my husband helps at night so it's no longer just me doing all of it. Then at night fill up the food bins, fresh water in waterers, one last pool fill for a bath before bed. Then at 8 it starts all over in the morning.

 

[Billy-jean]

I clean about once a month, maybe less. The ducks have an open shelter in a large run, so they don't poop in the shelter very much. The shelter has a dirt floor. Cleaning involves raking the straw out of the shelter and putting down new straw. The rest of the run is just dirt and it rains here frequently enough that nothing really builds up. If it has been dry and the ground looks messy, I hose it down (which the ducks love).

About once a week I cut a wheelbarrow full of tall green grass from along a fence and scatter it around the run. The ducks like to eat it and root around in it, plus it helps to prevent the ducks from turning everything into muck.

I drain and refill the pond about every three days. Less than that and it gets pretty nasty.

Yours is almost the EXACT routine as mine,,same set up ect )

 

[Billy-jean]

I have 14 ducks. A full on duck house- so I can totally stand in it. I layer straw on top and then once a month clean it out and lay fresh down. We cart the dirty hay and sprinkle it under the fruit trees and around our yard. We do not have grass...just a brown weedy field. LOL So I am curious what all this yummy duck poo will do to our giant dead yard.

Daily chores: empty waterers, rinse and let sit out to try during the day. Fill up 2 kiddie pools and 1 drinking tub. We change these out 4-6 times a day. My 10 year old helps during the day and my husband helps at night so it's no longer just me doing all of it. Then at night fill up the food bins, fresh water in waterers, one last pool fill for a bath before bed. Then at 8 it starts all over in the morning.

wow,,4-6 times a day refills!? You're a great mommy )