When do you change your coop bedding? How often?

[39jdeere]

hello
c1tph is right if you rake it twice to 3 times a week,the solids have time to dry an add new 1 time a week you really be supised your birds will stay clean an the smell is kept down
clean it once a month or as needed

 

[snowydiamonds]

I should have added that I use straw and long shredded paper because I live in Alaska and its cold most of the year. I love the aspen shavings for the inside the house pen I've got chicks in!

60 miles away we've got spruce trees and the road is closed or that'd be nice smelling litter I think, as others in Alaska use it with no problem.

 

[simba49450]

i use straw and change the entire coop which is 4' x 7' and i change the 100 watt light bulb. i have 3 girls and i change it every 2 weeks. and after i change it i burn the old straw and the girls love it. they know when i get ready to change it cause i have them on a set schedule and when they see the straw they start to dance. its really cute to watch them. my coop is all wood and they keep it dry do i never have to worry about moisture

 

[cmom]

I think it depends on where you live and what is the most available to you. I tried straw/hay at first but it matted down and the poop didn't mix in as well as the pine shavings. I sprinkled DE in also, and it helped. I found the pine shaving work better for me. The poop mixes in and dries up better and I don't have to clean out the coop so often, but I live in Florida and we do get some chilly weather but it doesn't stay cold. This week the nights will be in the 30's but daytime in the 60's.

 

[c1tph]

I've read about only cleaning the coop out every 6-12 months with the deep litter method. How easy is that! I hope mine can last that long. Of course I'll change it if it gets too on the nose, but we are about to start our summer here in Australia and it should be pretty dry.

 

[RIVERA69R]

The deep litter method seems to be a very popular method which i will try in my coop this summer, I will be getting four chicks at the end of december and of course after they are done in the brooder we will start out with pine shavings on the floor and straw in the nest boxes so hope it works, especially if you only have to clean it out 2 or 3 times a year! great. happy holidays

 

[ChicknLover]

I use the deep litter method for 10-12 chickens in an 8X8 coop, on a regular basis stir it up and remove any wet litter or big clumps from under roosts then and add a layer of clean litter on top. Then come fall and spring shovel out all the litter into a tarp pull over to the compost pile and then wash out the coop and start over. The litter gets deeper as you go and I have a board to hold the litter in by the door as it gets pretty deep, I use a mask when I stir it up because it gets dusty. If you keep it dry the poop shouldn't smell.

 

[freemotion]

Deep litter is the way to go for me! I don't know how well it would work with just straw, can the girls stir it themselves? You may have to help them.

Plan on a foot of bedding ultimately. Throw some scratch in everyday and they will turn it for you so you won't have to. If it gets packed under the roosts, you might loosen that with a fork or shovel on occasion to help them turn it.

Add bedding anytime you open the door and smell an unpleasant odor. Once you get to a certain depth, this won't happen anymore.

I would put a layer of sawdust or shavings in just to absorb at the bottom. Then you should be fine for the year with the straw. If you throw it on top of the straw, it will work it's way in.

I just take out a wheelbarrow or two of stuff under the roosts about every three months or so. I have 17 chickens now in a 3x12 coop, but they free-range all day on two acres, fenced. I let the poop build up in the winter under the roosts (they turn it, it doesn't stink, just gets deep) so heat will build up from the composting. It gets cold here in New England in the winter.

I never clean it to the ground. I would if I had disease, but haven't had to.

I put in lots of dry leaves this fall, about three feet broke down nicely. I used only one bag of shavings in 2008. When I go in to get eggs, etc, there is really no visible poop that I am stepping in. Just under the roosts.

Experiment and see what works for you, above all, have fun!

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I have two coops. in both I use the deep litter, but I have my roosts over wire in one coop. I sprinkle DE in the litter and in the poop pit. I have my coop moveable so I can give my birds new range area as I do fence them in to keep them from destroying my gardens. Right now they are in part of the corn field and within probably the next couple of weeks put in a another part. They are excellent rototillers. I put the poop from the pit into my compost. I give the coop a good cleaning once a year.
The other coop doesn't have a poop pit and I clean it every couple of months, but add litter and DE periodacally to both coops but especially under the roosts of the one without the pit as that seems to be the poopiest areas.

 

[curliet]

After lots of good advice from the people here on this board I use the deep litter method as well. During the summer I did empty out the coop every month just to make sure that the heat didn't foster something nasty, LOL. but now that winter is here, I have put in 3 bags of pine shavings so far, and won't empty it til spring unless something drastic happens. I don't have DE, but use Stall Dry and stir it in once a week. Someone else mentioned throwing in some scratch feed so that the chickens would help keep things mixed up, and that works well for me too. Probably one bag of shavings added per month will keep things fresh, they do break down pretty fast. When spring comes this will all go into a big pile that will be mixed with leaves and compost and used for the next years garden.