heth1986 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I know this may sound like a strange question, my OH thinks I'm going over the top with the 'clean thing', so I'm just interested I guess. At the moment I'm doing a 'poo pick' every day around their FR run and in the coop. The shavings in their house are changed weekly and, at this point, I sprinkle diatomaceous earth and mite powder around the empty house and again on top of the shavings (and the chickens!). I also rake their FR run on a weekly basis to pick up any veggie bits etc etc that I may have missed. And then every month I scrub their house and the paving that their enclosed run is sat on (it gets a bit pooey sometimes). I've nothing against carrying on my cleaning regime, I am, afterall, paranoid about mites and smells but I'm getting through an awful lot of shavings... and mite powder, and time... and my neighbours think I'm crazy as I'm ALWAYS up there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Worse than you I clean the house weekly I do like seeing it clean and I only have one house. It makes sense to get used to poo picking daily, it'll save having a lot of flies in summer and that'll please your OH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntielizzie Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Same as you really; I poo pick every morning (before I go out to work) from the coop, in the run and in the enclosed area around the run. I change the nest box bedding at the weekends, then I blitz the whole place (take it apart, scrub everything, chuck all bedding, floor covering etc) about every six weeks. I only have the one house and just the two chickens, but I like to keep them nice and clean and smelling nice. Im a bit paranoid in case the neighbours complained that it smelled. Also, I think it keeps the girls healthy and healthy chickens mean good quality yummy eggs. I probably am making a lot of extra work for myself but I really enjoy spending the time with them when I do it anyway and I am aware of the fact that the girls rely on me totally for everything so I wouldn't want to let them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackian Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I do more or less the same as you ,I have a small garden with a 4m x 4m WIR and the 4 girls FR when I am home...Hense a poopy patio every day ..I poop scoop every evening after they have gone to bed (with a BBQ spatula) poop pick the nest box and 2 coups every morning , change the bedding etc every weekend and proper clean and scrub about once a month ...I am also more worried about smells and flies than anything else especcially in the summer .I have just brought a steam cleaner to make like easier but not used it yet...Clean hen house make happy hens and great eggs (I hope) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Every other day they get new newspapers in the poo trays & new shredded paper in the nest boxes. They get a good scrub about every fortnight. Sometimes more often in Summer, due to preventing red mite. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I poo pick the trays and run once a day and wash the cube out with poultry shield once a week- sometimes goes a bit longer than that if the weather is grotty though. I tend to change the bedding in the run every six weeks or so, but I top it up regularly as it gets a bit sp"Ooops, word censored!" with the poo picking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesca88 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I wish I could get into the habit of poo picking, at the moment I put a bale of Easibed in each walk in run every month or so, and having to shovel the old stuff out beforehand is a horrible job! How many chickens do you all have? Isn't poo picking a bit difficult when they've all been trampling all over it all day and squishing it all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 6 (2 are biggies) in 11' 6" x 7' 6" run. I find that the first thing in morning ones are bigger so remove them as they are done. Rest mixes in with bedding and goes in clumps. At present got aubiose and ossichaff or medibed in run which coats it Find I only need to change it every 3 months and put about 1/2 bale down and top up occasionally in the 3 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I wish I could get into the habit of poo picking, at the moment I put a bale of Easibed in each walk in run every month or so, and having to shovel the old stuff out beforehand is a horrible job!How many chickens do you all have? Isn't poo picking a bit difficult when they've all been trampling all over it all day and squishing it all? I do the same as you, mine like a deep bed of shavings - impossible to poo pick. There trays used to get emptied every three days but since they have been on Garvo their poop is a lot smaller so only once a week now. Happy days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heth1986 Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 I wish I could get into the habit of poo picking, at the moment I put a bale of Easibed in each walk in run every month or so, and having to shovel the old stuff out beforehand is a horrible job!How many chickens do you all have? Isn't poo picking a bit difficult when they've all been trampling all over it all day and squishing it all? Having read down your list of chooks i'm not suprised you don't like poo picking! I only have 2 black star girls in a 12 x 10 foot run so they make minimal mess I must admit! There is a 3 x 6 foot paved area in the middle that their enclosed run is sat on so yes, when it's been raining and they've been in there I tend to have to s"Ooops, word censored!"e the trampled poo up... yuck! I have them in a wooden house which isn't as insulated as the lovely eglus so I tend to go overboard with bedding... I think, having read what other people do, I might start just topping their bedding up weekly to freshen it up and change it monthly instead. My main worry has always been smell, flies and mites. I don't want my neighbours getting upset, they've been so good about the girls so far it would be awful if they changed their minds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I use bliss bedding at the moment, which is quite pale... it's quite easy to spot the poo's. I also sort of ruffle the surface (with a rubber glove on!) and the clumps are easier to see then. I quite enjoy doing it- I like to see it looking all spruced again... I sometimes poo pick twice a day- not that I'm obsessive about it or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Twice a day do you find it therapeutic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I poo pick every morning before I start work and ruffle up the aubiose to make sure that I've got all the clumps. Odd person that I am, I do find it therapeutic I love seeing their house (I have a wooden Granary from Flytesofancy ) looking all nice and clean and I really enjoy talking to the chickens as they mill about me while I do it. On the other hand I'm not so keen on the main clean out. I top up their aubiose once a week, but only give their house a real clean every other weekend even though I'm neurotic about red mite. For this I take out all the old aubiose, scrub the perches and wash the PVC droppings sheet that goes over the floor, then use a brush all round the inside up and down, before puffing diatom powder over the floor and in any corners and crannies of the walls and ceiling. Finally I put back the droppings sheet which I've had airing in the sun and cover it in a good layer of new aubiose and new supabed in the nestbox. It is the bending which I find difficult even though the house is up on staddle stones . Also in the winter it has to be done quite early in the morning to make sure the perches and droppings sheet are all dry and ready to go back when the chickes want to go to bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My old Betty used to inspect it all with a disapproving look in her face after i had cleaned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzieLloyd Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I dont tend to poo pick around the WIR as it gets squished around in the wood shavings in their run and on a morning I'm not strong enough to pickup the fresh laid poops I do clean out their house every weekend and Smite it as I love them to have a lovely fresh bed as often as possible. (and love watching them ferret around in the fresh straw) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Show chooks get cleaned out every day. The rest get their coops cleaned out weekly. The runs are done far less often, some are moved around on grass, for the static ones the clean out is monthly for some and every few months for others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR666 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 We have a and line the droppings tray with newspaper. Every day we s"Ooops, word censored!"e the roosting bars (without taking them out) so the poo falls into the tray and then empty this into a compost bin. Reline with clean and job done for the day. At least once a week we take the lid off to give it a good air and wash the bars, nest box etc. We have purchased a spare set of bars and found it is much easier to swop them over rather than waiting for the others to dry, especially on a cold or wet day. One day we could not clean the bars due to the very cold temperature so it was useful to just swap them over and clean them later when it was warmer. Aren't chickens spoiled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 OH has got a power washer - second time used today by me - first day got very wet and mud (i hope it was mud) in my fringe - today muddy trousers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eve Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 i clean out every week.dont poo pick though. once a year i pant the house with creasote and smite all summer every week even spray birds weekly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 OH has got a power washer - second time used today by me - first day got very wet and mud (i hope it was mud) in my fringe - today muddy trousers. Oh i love my pressure washer, I get carried away with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I don't have any hard and fast rules about when I clean out/poo pick. I tend just to go by eye (and nose ) as to when it needs doing. I line the inside of my coops with newspaper and put wood shavings/straw (depending what I have bought) in the nest boxes. None of this takes much time to hoik out and replace so I tend to do a full bedding/newspaper change every few days. Disinfecting is a different matter though, this tends to happen only 3-4 times a year - mostly in summer to keep on top of any red mites that might have crept in (I do check regularly for red mite too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Well they arent called power washers for nothing - I got carried away too - the cat nearly got a bidet job up his btm teach to get in the fireing line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 They're fun to use but I seem to create so much mud and splatter it around . There must be a knack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Potts Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Scrub and wash the inside and out each weekend using Poultry Shield. Change the egg bedding each weekend, which has been mixed with diatom. Usually sprinkle some handfuls of clean bedding on again mid week. Don't poo pick the run, but do put on fresh woodchips every quarter after taking out old ones. Use Stalosan once a month on the chippings to keep them smelling nice. Mrs Potts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Chooky Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Clean the and every weekend with Barrier V1 Disinfectant (love the smell of that stuff), puff Diatom all around the inside of both and put Aubiose in poo trays and nests; then rake the leaves and wood chips in the WIR once they've gone to bed and sprinkle with Stalosan...oh and clean the glugs once a week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
