Coop Clean Out

So remember that snow? Well, its all gone. It's a beautiful 70 degrees today.

So, with the now much warmer weather, me and M decided to do a coop clean out.

All in all it took about 10 minutes (and only that long because I had to fight the 30 mph wind gusts) and it gave me a chance to chase the girls around the yard trying to get a picture. I only wish I would have had another person there to take a picture of me, running around the yard in a crouched position with my camera. Had to be quite a sight.

Anyway, what you will need-

1.Gloves

2.Boots

3.Plastic bag,Bucket,Basket, etc.

4.Replacement bedding (straw,hay,chips,etc.)

Boots- because its probably going to be muddy and ultimately poopy. Any old shoes will also work.

Gloves- unless of course you want to pick poop up with your bare hands....and for those of you still scared to touch your chickens.

Container of your choice- to put all the poop and bedding in.

The first thing I dd, after letting the birds out, was clean out and refill the food and water containers. Next, I removed all the old soiled bedding from the nest boxes, being sure to pick up all of the extra poop. Then I dumped all of the "manure" (I prefer 'poop') from the manure box under their roost into my bag. You may have to scrape any caked on or wet poop. A putty knife,paint scraper, or stick works well for this. I just used a small twig and threw it into my bag when I was done.

After replacing the manure box I replaced all of the bedding- Nice clean nest boxes.

As of right now our run floor is just dirt. They have pretty well dug up/ate all the vegetation that was there. Because of the cold, and the shock of the move, they have been spending most of their time in the house and nest boxes. Ultimately pooping all over inside and leaving the outside fairly clean. Eventually I will place some form of bedding on the dirt (wood chips,straw,hay? Not sure yet) and changing and/or cleaning that up would be the next step. Because their run was basically clean I just picked up the poop I dd see.

The start of this years compost! -

Next is a trip out to your compost bin. Everything you picked up (including any lingeringg kitchen scraps - not meat or processed foods) can now be taken to your bin. I've  been saving "browns" to add when I added my first batch of chicken manure. Chicken poop is very high in nitrogen and needs to be balanced out with plenty of browns (carbon). About a 2:1. Pictured here is chicken poop, dry leaves, hay, old cut up newspaper, cut up toilet paper rolls, dryer lint, and a twig or two. 

And you're done! Pretty easy huh? I would suspect that caring for a flock of more than a handful could be quite a bit more complicated.

Lucky for us urban farmers 3-6 is common flock size. One grocery store plastic bag full of poop and bedding is all you should have to worry about with each clean (every 1-2weeks).

Last step? Let your assistant enjoy the unseasonably warm weather!

Bonus points if she amuses the resident watch dog.