I have been totally exchanging the litter in my coop about once a month. This keeps things fresh and clean but I understand that I should perhaps let things accumulate and just add more pine shavings to the old smelly stuff. It has been about two months since I last totally cleaned out my coop and I have to say that the smell of ammonia is bad and I am worried about it affecting the lungs of the chickens and myself. Should I just add more litter and wait for something better smelling or no? If so, how often should one add new litter to the old?

Alexandra:

I've been doing something similar and will be interested in the replies you receive. I use pine shavings also and clean the debris every four or five days, then the entire shaving every three or four months. This has worked well for me but, I too, am unsure if that's the right thing to do. Maybe we both can learn from this.

Larry

When the ammonia begins to be noticeable, it's time to clean out and start over again. If you add shavings often enough for the new ones to keep the rest of the bedding pretty dry, then the duration can be extended. Although we use straw, I find that if I can keep it fairly dry around the fountain that the rest of the bedding lasts longer. The ammonia and worst smell always seems to come from the damp area around the fountain and under the roosts. Hope this helps.

Thank you Dr.!

It seems like I will be cleaning the coop today. I just wanted to add that I read in Barbara Damerow's book that the coop should only be cleaned once every year or two! The thought behind this was that the really old litter attracted parasitic wasps which were beneficial to the chicken environment.

I just can't imagine leaving my smelly litter stand for another 10 months! Is this normal practice? At any rate, I am somewhat relieved to hear that I should clean my coop and not let it stand. Thanks for the prompt reply.

Thank you Dr.!

It seems like I will be cleaning the coop today. I just wanted to add that I read in Barbara Damerow's book that the coop should only be cleaned once every year or two! The thought behind this was that the really old litter attracted parasitic wasps which were beneficial to the chicken environment.

I just can't imagine leaving my smelly litter stand for another 10 months! Is this normal practice? At any rate, I am somewhat relieved to hear that I should clean my coop and not let it stand. Thanks for the prompt reply.

Lots of coop plans call for dropping boards beneath the roosts. If these were used and kept clean, and if the building were large, the need to renew deep bedding so frequently would be considerably reduced. Most henhouses these days are not as large as the old ones were years ago. Fork away!

I've been using the Bird Cage strategy. I have pine shavings, but then I've beeen laying newspapers on top of it. I change the papers twice a week. But they poop SO MUCH, that it really needs to be changed at least once more a week.
I thought about using JUST pine shavings, but I like the idea of just wrapping up the dirty paper and tossing it. Leaves no poop behind.

Just thought I'd mention that I cleaned our henhouse out today, and although the ammonia wasn't bad, the bedding was very damp and really needed changing. I think maybe cold air under the building had condensed more moisture than usual on the bedding, because it was really damp. With the cold weather starting earlier this year, there was more chance for this to happen. I piled snow up against the bottom of the building so as to cut down on the air passing over the bottom of the floor. I put in lots of straw to rebed and to help keep their feet warm when they get down off the roost. I try to remind myself now and than that of all that water they drink, there are only three places for it to go: into the air from breathing, into eggs, and into manure on the floor.

Cleaned the coop yesterday and ran into similar situation as Dr. Bruce. Cold air from under the building froze everything and even though I preheated the coop with a heating fan, I amost needed a pick in certain areas.

Might also try Sunni's suggestion of leaving papers down under the roost.

Thank you guys for helping Larry and I out.

Hi everyone,
I use lime powder underneath my pine shavings. this seems to keep the smell down for a period time. I usually have to clean the coop about once every 7-8 months really well.(and redust the ground with lime). But, I'll ocasionally clean it every couple of weeks through the summer, just getting the big droppings and wet shavings. Hope this helps.

I use the lime dust under straw as well and it does helpextend the time between cleanings. We are able to kinda remove the manure on top in clumps and keep the straw stirred up. This gets me about 3 weeks to a month between complete changes, but the little darlings just will not wipe their feet after playing outside! Our biggest enemy has been all the rain we've had since the first of the year. Since the birds cannot stay indoors indefinately without getting antsy, I let them out as much as possible, weather permitting. Like right now, we are day 4 of constant rain. It will be another week before their coop dries completely unless the sun comes out. Water is not standing but it is rather muddy.
Grace

And easy way to deal with the bird droppings if you have already built the coop and it has a wood floor is cut the flr area out under the roost and install a strong poultry wire to replace the flr board area. you can then just rake the dropings out and place them on the compost bin. in my case i had to raise the coop to get clearance to rake under the house but it was worth the effort as it is cleaner and alot easier to stay on top of the mess. for me its one of those 'I'M GONNA DO IT JOBS'

I am new to raising chickens. I have the three stage compost bin system for my yard refuse. Is it safe to put the hen droppings in the compost, then use that compost in my vegetable garden?

Andrea, chicken droppings are great for the compost bin. As Dr. Smith says, "fork away!" Ade

i have just enter the world of raising chickens. My son plans on showing at the county fair. it will be an ffa project for him. any answer to my questions will be greatly appreciated. when do the chicks go outside? does the heat lamp go with them? we are using an old dog house as our coop, (fencing around it). what do you suggest we use in the coop. we have used pine shavings while in the house, same in the coop? need all information we can get our hands on. we are both not very bright when it comes chickens.

I am going to Kenya in the middle of September. My main goal is to build a large chicken coop for the orphanage in Bungoma. Their small chicken enterprise will help support the orphanage. Problem... I don't know much about whats needed in the coop etc.... any help as to internet sights to get this info. or suggestions etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

If you will describe the climate in the part of Kenya where you will be going, that should help people offer suggestions for your coop. Is the climate the same the year around?

Hi,
Quick question. I want to put pine chips/shavings in my chicken coop as bedding...replacing cut grass, and I just wanted to make sure that my 12 week old bantams, or any of them for that matter, won't be harmed if they eat some of it. I guess it's a dumb question since a lot of you use it and have no problems. Just wanted to double check. Thanks
Daniel