The dreaded spring cleaning question

We have DEEP BEDDING (pine flakes) in the coop. There is a poopboard (filled with PDZ) under the roost that gets sifted out everyday or two. We do a complete clean-out twice a year, spring & fall.

We have DEEP LITTER in the run. It's a mixture of straw, hay, grass clippings, leaves, pine needles and other landscape debris. We do a complete clean-out once a year, spring. The run is covered and stay pretty dry, the poop falls through to the dirt below and the chickens keep it turned.

 

We shovel out the litter sometime in spring; it goes to a neighbor's garden, or our manure spreader and a pasture. In smaller properties, a compost pile is a good option, and then spread in the garden. My coop is an old wooden structure, with additions, and couldn't survive too many scrub downs! We shovel and scrape, and call it good enough. If you are cleaning out poo continuously, and things are looking and smelling good, just add more shavings and worry about clean-out later. Big commercial operations, hugely crowded, practice 'all-in and all-out', and clean and disinfect every time. That's not a typical 'backyard' management style, and if you are good about biosecurity, not necessary for most of us. Mary