Chickens are dirty birds. They poop everywhere and then they kick their poop everywhere else while scratching around for food and bugs.
We probably don’t clean out their coop as often as we could (I’ve read that some people clean out their coops every single week while we do ours every few months), but I think the dry weather we have here is on our side 🙂
We use the deep litter method. Generally with straw in their run and beneath their coop and wood shavings in their nesting boxes. This method allows their poop to settle while they scratch around and starts the composting process before you even add it to the compost heap!
Before:
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| Note that most of their bedding has been broken down and there are pine needles littering the ground from the tree that reaches out over their coop. |
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| Their roost is right above this wire mesh “platform”. Luckily, most of their poop falls through the mesh, but a few pieces tend to stick. Gross. |
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| One of the nesting boxes. These are usually just full of random feathers the Ladies lose when popping an egg out. Nothing gross here, but it’s nice to freshen it up for the Ladies anyway. |
After:
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| Mostly straw. About one and a half bales. Tool Lady also threw down the extra pine shavings after fixing up the nesting boxes. |
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| We generally just scrape the wire mesh platform, allowing all the poop to fall through, then scoop it all up with a snow shovel and throw it in the compost. |
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| Fresh nesting boxes 🙂 |
That’s it! Super simple and easy!
I think this Newbie approves!
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| We keep their food & scratch in galvanized garbage bins inside their coop. The lids are tied down with bungie cords. It’s easier to feed them this way and, from time to time, when we move them, there tends to be lots of bugs living beneath them that provide a nice snack for the Ladies! |
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