What litter to use on wooden floor

[MtnFamilyFarm]

Problem: I need something that is not too heavy to clean.

We have started a "hobby" farm on family land. I have 16 hens. I am in my 50's and plan to continue this.

My husband has a heart issue, so I am the one cleaning the coop litter. We raised and sold hens last summer (fun!), but shoveling out pine flakes into dump cart hooked to the truck, dumping it (always had to also shovel some out); was hard on my back.

Is there something we can use on wooden floors that would not risk my back? I have no back issues and want to keep it that way. My husband says sand would probably be too heavy on wooden floors. We have 2 coops. One is an ave. size one and the other is a lg loft storage bldg - now a coop. Both have wooden floors. (We have 8 acres in the mountains so room and shade are not the problem - the weight of the floor litter is). Also I work full time, so time is an issue as well.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Mtn. Family Farm

 

[Wisher1000]

My suggestion is to get some roll linoleum and cover the wood of both coops. Try not to have a seam and run the edges up the wall a bit. Then, use the shavings, but not too much, just a couple of inches. If you don't let them get really dirty and wet, they will sweep out easily. Installing poop boards under the roosts that can be scraped clean daily will make the shavings last even longer.

Good luck and welcome to BYC!

 

[4 the Birds]

Problem: I need something that is not too heavy to clean.

We have started a "hobby" farm on family land. I have 16 hens. I am in my 50's and plan to continue this.

My husband has a heart issue, so I am the one cleaning the coop litter. We raised and sold hens last summer (fun!), but shoveling out pine flakes into dump cart hooked to the truck, dumping it (always had to also shovel some out); was hard on my back.

Is there something we can use on wooden floors that would not risk my back? I have no back issues and want to keep it that way. My husband says sand would probably be too heavy on wooden floors. We have 2 coops. One is an ave. size one and the other is a lg loft storage bldg - now a coop. Both have wooden floors. (We have 8 acres in the mountains so room and shade are not the problem - the weight of the floor litter is). Also I work full time, so time is an issue as well.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Mtn. Family Farm

I would add plenty of pine chips on the wood floor (about 4 to 6 inches). Add pine chips every few weeks and plan on a full removal and replacement of the chips about twice a year. I typically clean the coop in the Spring and then in the Fall. Also add poop boards below your roosting bars so that you can scrape them daily and remove the waste from the coop. Using poop boards will effectively help remove most of the poop from the coop and keep it reasonably clean. I use a metal scraper and a dust pan to clean the boards into a bucket and then dump the waste into a compost pile. I also dust the boards and coop floor with DE and Sweet PDZ occasionaly to help keep things dry and smelling nice.

Chicken coops need daily care with waste removal, hauling in fresh water, and adding feed. Certainly good excersize for anyone that is fit. You could always pay someone to shovel out the coop a few times a year if that is a tough chore. Hope this helps!

 

[Alaskan]

You need poop boards.

Most of the poop does truly end on on the poop boards/ poop shelves and then the rest of the coop stays clean for close to forever (depending of course on how many chickens you have)