Too clean equals bad? fact or fiction?

[quackingdom]

I don't have a coop, so I hardly "clean" at all. My ducks spend the night in mobile pens and free range for the day. I move the pens frequently, and sometimes scrub out the food and water bowls. That's it. Well, one of the mobile pens does have a section with a floor, so I do have to put new bedding in that every once in a while.

 

[GGRinger]

I use the deep litter method in my coop. I use pine shavings along with dried herbs and DE and just turn them over, to incorporate any poop, every day when I go out to collect eggs. I add more shavings as needed. I deep clean once a year, when I clear out all of the shavings, scrub any spots of dried on poo with vinegar and water, then retreat with DE and add fresh pine shavings and dried herbs. I do the same with my nesting boxes, only I use finer pine shavings.

The shavings I remove from the pen, I put in my chicken run, in one big pile, and they become the beginings of a new chicken compost pile, which they love to dig through. I add kitchen scraps and garden trimmings throught the year. The chickens love to peck through the pile and spread it all through the run, thus turning my compost pile for me, and adding nitrogen in the form of their poo. I rake it all back into a pile periodically, about every week or two, and each time it becomes finer and finer. They get so excited when they see me raking their compost pile, and can't wait to jump in and start digging. After about 3 months I can start harvesting finished compost, and start adding in more leaves from the property.

We live in Southeast Georgia, in a pine oak forest so we have plenty of oak leaves and pine straw year round, and our soil is mostly sand, so mud is not an issue for us.

I keep all the food and water out of the coop to keep it clean and dry inside, unless the chickens are locked down due to a hurricane.

I, too, am a believer in "less is more" and "natural balance".

 

[Jodi Keilman]

I filled my whole coop & run with construction sand, 6 inches deep. Every day after I get home from work, I let them out of the run & they get to explore the whole backyard and pick at the grass & poop on my patio. While they’re exploring, I walk thru the coop & run and pick up all of their droppings from the day with a kitty scoop. 5 young chickens a lot! Surprises me every day. Then, I hose off the patio and when my chores are done, I sit in the grass with them with 1 hard-boiled egg and they eat from my hand while I pet them. It’s our daily ritual- I actually enjoy it. Is that too clean? Who knows. It works for me.

 

[Blooie]

I thought about sand too. But then I thought, "What do I do when I have to take out the sand and replace it?" which, after a time, I would. Where does that much sand go? What can I do with a huge pile of sand that has chicken poop scraps and has absorbed the liquids from chicken poop in it? My other concern, which you may not have because of your climate, is that sand makes for a very hard landing after several months of absorbing moisture and then the temps drop into 20 degrees below range for a week or more.

I have a lot of friends on here who have used sand for years and very successfully. They love it and wouldn't do anything else. Just not for me!

And welcome to BYC - so glad to have you!!

 

[AmazingRachel]

I believe that to an extent. There is some research suggesting that chickens on wired floors are more vulnerable to parasites because they don't regularly interact with their poop/parasite eggs from a young age. However, on the opposite end, people who practice the DL Method incorrectly out of laziness/excuse for not cleaning cause more harm than good because the potential for an ammonia spike and/or parasite outbreak. There needs to be moderation.

 

[aart]

I filled my whole coop & run with construction sand, 6 inches deep. Every day after I get home from work, I let them out of the run & they get to explore the whole backyard and pick at the grass & poop on my patio. While they’re exploring, I walk thru the coop & run and pick up all of their droppings from the day with a kitty scoop. 5 young chickens a lot! Surprises me every day. Then, I hose off the patio and when my chores are done, I sit in the grass with them with 1 hard-boiled egg and they eat from my hand while I pet them. It’s our daily ritual- I actually enjoy it. Is that too clean? Who knows. It works for me.

Welcome to BYC!
So how long have you had chickens on sand?

What is your climate?
Good to add your general location to your profile,
climate affects so many thing chicken,
easy to do then it's always there!

 

[Jodi Keilman]

Welcome to BYC!
So how long have you had chickens on sand?

What is your climate?
Good to add your general location to your profile,
climate affects so many thing chicken,
easy to do then it's always there!
View attachment 1287667

Glad you mentioned that! I just updated my profile. I’m in Glendale, AZ - very dry & hot. I kept that in mind when I chose the sand & built coop around a big and will use a mister & other ideas to ensure they don’t suffer thru the hot months. I’m super new to chickens - my oldest is 2 months old. 6 chickens total. (3 Buff Orps, 3 Silkies).

 

[aart]

Glad you mentioned that! I just updated my profile. I’m in Glendale, AZ - very dry & hot. I kept that in mind when I chose the sand & built coop around a big and will use a mister & other ideas to ensure they don’t suffer thru the hot months. I’m super new to chickens - my oldest is 2 months old. 6 chickens total. (3 Buff Orps, 3 Silkies).

Sand can work well in dry climates...so do misters.
Other climates, not so much.

 

[Jodi Keilman]

I thought about sand too. But then I thought, "What do I do when I have to take out the sand and replace it?" which, after a time, I would. Where does that much sand go? What can I do with a huge pile of sand that has chicken poop scraps and has absorbed the liquids from chicken poop in it? My other concern, which you may not have because of your climate, is that sand makes for a very hard landing after several months of absorbing moisture and then the temps drop into 20 degrees below range for a week or more.

I have a lot of friends on here who have used sand for years and very successfully. They love it and wouldn't do anything else. Just not for me!

And welcome to BYC - so glad to have you!!

Thank you Blooie! I LOVE reading your posts on here! Got a kick out of the ‘bacteria blast re: MHP’. I actually used your exact directions & the pics were essential - I made an exact replica and I love it.

 

[igorsMistress]

We clean poop boards a couple times a week to keep the flies down, one batch goes to the compost pile, the next to the litter on the floor, mostly because we don't have anything else green on a regular basis to help my compost pile. The coop gets a major cleaning once a year, take out the old litter, put down fresh and sweep down the inside. I'm thinking about trying a white wash inside but haven't done that yet.

Food bowls and waterers are scrubbed once a week with vinegar and a little dishsoap, but the wateres get a good rinse when the girls get fresh water every day. Nesting boxes we keep an eye on, but they stay pretty clean. The boxes are plastic and mount to the wall inside the coop, easily wiped out if an egg breaks in there. I take them out and scrub with vinegar and dish soap when I clean the coop.

The patio where we feed the girls is swept once or twice a week, depending on the mess. I also rake my yard once in while to remove some of the poop and toss in the compost pile. Maybe every three months or so, but they have the entire yard to use and things don't build up too fast out there.

I'm a firm believer in there is such a thing as too clean, but that doesn't mean things should be allowed to get filthy. We use regular soap for handwashing...it's the friction of rubbing your hands together that gets the germs off. We don't use any hand sanitizers, no bleach, and generally I make all my household cleaners here at home with very basic ingredients. Other than allergies we're all pretty healthy.