The dreaded spring cleaning question

[Clark Fowl Fans]

I use the deep litter method with pine shavings and every 2 weeks i scoop out the poop on top & rustle up everything else. How often do you TOTALLY empty out all the bedding and scrub everything down? Also, what do you use to disinfect that won't be harmful to the birds? Thanks for any advice - this is our 11th month with hens, i have 5, and i've done this once since starting their coop.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

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.

 

[Folly's place]

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