Topic of the Week - Coop Bedding and Waste Management; Deep Litter Method etc.

[ChickNanny13]

- Bedding in the coop: What do you use? Wood Shavings from Dels/TSC.

- How deep do you let it get? Started with 2" up to 4", liking it deeper the better.

- How often do you clean it out? Once a month remove about 2 - 3 5gal buckets, using the loosen dirt to fill low spots & holes in my yard.

- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.) Hard clay dirt. They're "tilling" it for me

- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more? Yes, it's under the roost they chose to sleep on, right above their "nest box". Clean it daily by scraping with a plastic putty knife, sprinkle some PDZ & DE. I do FF so their poo is firm & not smelly at all and not much of it daily, about a gallon in 3 - 4 days.

- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience? Yes, helps keep the dust down. Think I'm getting the concept down now. My girls (5) stay in their Run/Coop (8 x 12 x 7), the last 4 I had tore up my yard & destroyed my garden. Was shocked since the other I've had weren't so destructive.

- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ) I sprinkle DE in the shavings whenever I add or change out. PDZ & DE in the poop board. No smells & if it does get wet, I add more shavings & rake it around with their help.

I have an open air Run/Coop due to our weather being quite mild. It does get hot & humid during the Summer so I wanted ventilation galore and due to the rains we get, it was a concern. Shower Curtains on EMT rods took care of the rain, when we do have strong winds I tie it down so far it's been a year in use and working out just fine for us.

 

[aart]

What is the advantage you see using the pine shavings in the coop vs straw? Do you take or scoop out the poo in between cleanings or turn it over like in deep litter method?

I live in upstate NY - this winter has been really cold & snowy. My feeling was the straw provided more warmth than the shavings. Your experience?

The kiln dried, baled pine shavings found at most farm stores actually absorb moisture, where as most straw will not do that.
I start with about a bale and a half on 6x16 coop floor, adding another bale and half a bit at time over the year as needed.
No 'cleaning' is done of floor shavings, just stir them up regularly and completely replace them once a year, usually in fall.
But I have a poop board and an insulated floor.

BTW.... a true composting deep litter should not be stirred or turned over.

 

[WillGriffin03]

- Bedding in the coop: What do you use?
I use quite a bit of straw and were they roost I put a lot more so it makes it easier to clean out.
- How deep do you let it get?
I clean out everything once a month.
- How often do you clean it out?
- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)
Earth and wire beneath the straw so we don't get any unwanted guests.
- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?
No I don't.
- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience?
No, sorry
- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)
In our coop the smell doesn't get that bad.

 

[BriColie]

One thing any chicken keeper will tell you is that chickens can get messy and keeping the coop clean(ish) and not too smelly can be a challenge, especially over winter, when many of our birds prefer to spend their time indoors. This week I'd like to hear you all's thoughts on coop bedding, waste management etc. Specifically:

[COLOR=333333]- Bedding in the coop: What do you use?  [/COLOR]
- pine shavings (light dusting) & straw or hay on top
[COLOR=333333]- How deep do you let it get?  [/COLOR]
More in the nesting boxes, less in the run, maybe 2 inches
[COLOR=333333]- How often do you clean it out?  [/COLOR]
I do a big clean out 1-2x a week (mattering on how it looks) & usually a small pick-up cleaning everyday when i check for eggs (for example if i notice a pile of poop then I'll just scoop it up & dump it out, but not clean the whole nesting box)

[COLOR=333333]- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)[/COLOR]
OSB wood

[COLOR=333333]- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?[/COLOR]

By accident...i guess one might consider it a "poop board", we put a board in the back of the coop for any roosting chickens to roost & it just collects poop, so we dust it with some pine shavings once a week & scoop it up

[COLOR=333333]- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your [/COLOR]

No, but interested in the future to do this
[COLOR=333333]experience? [/COLOR]


[COLOR=333333]- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)[/COLOR] pine shavings seem to help with odor & moisture...haven't tried anything else though

[COLOR=333333]For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive[/COLOR]

 

[Nardo]

Quote:

 

[crazychickymom]

I use sand for my coop floor. Under the sand is concrete, but I ABSOLUTELY Love the sand.. every morning, I use a cat litter scoop and scoop out the poop.. no more smell either. It does not get too cold or damp and with all the poop gone, no chance for ammonia to build up.

 

[ShinShien]

One thing any chicken keeper will tell you is that chickens can get messy and keeping the coop clean(ish) and not too smelly can be a challenge, especially over winter, when many of our birds prefer to spend their time indoors. This week I'd like to hear you all's thoughts on coop bedding, waste management etc. Specifically:

- Bedding in the coop: What do you use?
None
- How deep do you let it get?
N/A
- How often do you clean it out?
Shovel up stray poops when I see them
- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)
Plywood
- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?
Considering adding a sandbox underneath roost. For now, shovel the poop out daily, three days max between cleaning. Occasionally refresh with PDZ
- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience?
Tried it. It doesn't work for me. It stinks, no matter what people have told me or what I've read.
- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)
Wood ash and PDZ


For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[iosRANDALL]

I just lift up one end, wheel the coop/yard 10 feet and give them new fresh ground daily. There are two trays/sleds with rope pulls that are slid under the roost at night to collect fertilizer for my wife's vegetable garden. The poop falls thru a 1 inch X 2 inch wire screen floor to collect in the 2 trays laying side-by-side on the ground below. Every week or so, Gina grabs the tray's rope pulls and sleds them to the garden to empty. And during the day, what they drop in the yard on a new piece of ground each day fertilizes the lawn...

 

[pacorona]

Ever since you turned me on to a sand flooring my life has been so easy!! No problem with wet floors and raking or scooping is so easy. I do have a board under their perch but they spend most of the day free ranging so not bad at all. Use pine shavings in laying boxes and add to it once every week or two. Easy peasy for this 75 year oldGranny!! Lol

 

[Geezer]

I only have 8 hens, so I built a fairly small coop, which is a little over a foot off of the ground. The solid part of the floor is covered with wood chips, and under the roost area there is 1"x2" wire screen.
That way most of their droppings falls to the ground, which I rake up every few weeks, and spread on my vegetable garden. Works great.