Ever get tired of a muddy, dirty, and stinky chicken coop enclosure on the homestead? I know I sure did! Then I figured out these secrets to chicken coop enclosure maintenance and it has made all the difference for my flock! I don’t need to be a clean freak, I don’t need to buy more litter every year, and I only need to invest a few minutes each week into maintaining my flock’s enclosure. Learn the secrets, lay the groundwork, and invest a few minutes each week into your chicken coop’s enclosure and you’ll be well on your way to a clean, mud-free enclosure! Keeping a clean chicken coop enclosure on the homestead will help keep your flock healthy and happy!
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The Two Essential Cleaning Secrets
Before we begin, it’s important to note that your chicken coop enclosure should be big enough for your flock to prevent droppings from being too concentrated. Allow at least 8-12 square feet of enclosure space per chicken. Bigger is always better!
Now let’s cut right to the chase, here are the two basic principles I have learned over the past few years for keeping a clean, dry, well-drained chicken coop enclosure:
#1. Don’t be a Clean Freak!
The first lesson I learned was don’t be a clean freak! I don’t know if I’m the only homesteader with this problem, but I used to be fanatic about keeping a clean, poop-free enclosure for my chickens. Every week I would rake up all the droppings and remove them. Then I would set to the back-breaking work of trying to till up hard-packed litter. It just wasn’t fun any more! Not to mention my cleanliness didn’t seem to help the health of my flock.
What I had to realize was that the chicken coop enclosure was not like my room, which I obsess over keeping clean. The enclosure actually needs to be dirty. A chicken’s own poop can actually help the whole flock build up strong immune systems. The bacteria and protozoa present in daily droppings will help the other chickens build up immunity to those microbes when they are present in the environment in small, controlled quantities.
Building good flock immunity can help your chickens stay healthy even when they come in contact with harmful diseases in their environment. The key here is small quantities of harmful microbes. Which is where the next secret comes into play.
#2. Promote Composting
A strong composting system is essential to a clean, dry, and well-draining enclosure that promotes a healthy flock. Without a composting system, all the following enclosure maintenance tips will not help. Composting is essential.
The natural breaking down process of organic material should occur naturally in the chicken coop enclosure. Droppings should compost with litter, thus preventing a build-up of manure. The composting process is aided by beneficial bacteria and microbes. These beneficial microbes will help keep the harmful microbes in the droppings from proliferating. Droppings that get regularly turned into compost won’t have time to allow for harmful microbes to become present in large quantities which would harm flock immunity.
In order for a good composting system to take place right within your flock’s enclosure, a few essential factors need to be present. You need green material (nitrogen), brown material (carbon), and it needs regular turning.
What you don’t want is a wet environment and hard-packed litter, both of which would prevent a good composting system from developing. The moisture encourages the rapid growth of harmful microbes while the hard-packed litter inhibits the breaking down of natural substances.
Through lots of trial and error, research, and applying common sense, I came up with a method to keep a dry, clean, and well-drained enclosure all year round. Here’s what you have to do!
3 Steps for Laying the Groundwork
To get the whole process started, you need to lay some groundwork. Whether you lay this groundwork before you build your coop, as you build your coop, or after you build your coop, it needs to be done at some point in order to get you started on the right track for a clean and dry enclosure.
I recommend doing the groundwork in the summer or fall. Things will have dried out and you should have fairly decent weather for working on the chicken coop enclosure.
#1. Choose a Dry Location
The first part of the groundwork is to choose a fairly dry location for the chicken coop enclosure. Having a ground layer that naturally stays relatively dry and puddle free will give you a good jump start on keeping a dry enclosure and it will also require less investment in the long run.
Now, maybe you’ve already built your chicken coop enclosure and its location does not fit the ideal scenario. Don’t worry, I’ve overcome that obstacle and you can too! Or maybe you just can’t find a year-round dry location on your property, that’s okay too. You deal with what you have and the second part of groundwork can help overcome both of those obstacles.
The main idea behind this first step of groundwork is to not purposely build your chicken coop enclosure in a naturally low location.
#2. Thick Layer of Litter
Having a thick layer of litter down initially is what will really get your clean, dry enclosure started. While you typically put a lot of thought into the chicken coop litter, the enclosure litter is just as important. There are two things to consider when filling your enclosure with the groundwork litter: the type of litter and the thickness.
Enclosure litter has to be a good-draining litter. Meaning that if it does get wet, it will dry out quickly without clumping or matting. The two best options for chicken coop enclosure litter are construction-grade sand or wood chips (not wood shavings or sawdust). These two litters work best for the method of enclosure maintenance you will be applying to keep a dry, clean enclosure all year-round. I personally use construction-grade sand in my enclosures. Construction-grade sand allows for adequate drainage, doesn’t compost down like wood chips will, and it lasts a long time. Wood chips will compost down and will need to be replaced every year.
Enclosure litter also has to be thick! Just how thick the litter will need to be depends on your enclosure’s location. One of my coop enclosure’s is located in a low spot that always fills with puddles every spring. The key to overcoming that issue was to fill the enclosure with about a foot and a half of construction-grade sand. My other enclosure is also located in an area that often developed wet spots during the spring. The key to keeping that enclosure dry was to also fill it with construction-grade sand, however, it didn’t require as thick of a layer and mostly only needed certain spots filled and leveled out.
Enclosure Litter Thickness Factors:
- the top layer of litter should remain loose and dry at all times
- the enclosure should be fairly level with no low spots for water to gather
- wetter locations will need a thicker enclosure litter
Don’t skimp on the litter thickness! That was one mistake I kept making for many years, and I had to keep re-investing in new enclosure sand every other year because puddles kept forming. Invest in as much litter as you need to get your enclosure dry and level, it will save you time and money!
#3. Cover the Enclosure
The last bit of groundwork you need to prepare is covering the chicken coop enclosure. I know that may sound like more of an investment of time and money, but it is essential in order for this enclosure maintenance system to work. Not only will it help you keep a clean, dry enclosure, but it will also provide more predator and weather protection for your flock.
Having a covered chicken coop enclosure prevents moisture from directly building up within the enclosure. It also keeps the litter from getting thoroughly wetted down with rain, snow, ice, and other precipitation. Some precipitation will still blow in from the sides of the enclosure, but that can be controlled with a well-draining litter layer. A thick layer of litter will also prevent groundwater from seeping up under the enclosure and forming puddles.
A covered chicken coop enclosure gives the litter within the enclosure time to dry out without becoming wet, matted, and stomped into a hard-packed surface. The cover on the enclosure should keep precipitation out and should have a run-off system that keeps water from pooling up close to the enclosure. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to be functional.
My chicken coop enclosures have wooden support rafters and are covered with sheets of thin tin.
Seasonal Maintenance Tips
So, the groundwork has been laid. Your enclosure is filled with a thick layer of litter (construction-grade sand is recommended). The top layer of litter is loose and dry. And your enclosure is covered and protected from direct precipitation.
Congratulations! Most of the time-intensive work is done! Now you just have to invest a little bit of time each week into maintaining your chicken coop enclosure. Without maintenance, your enclosure will revert back to a hard-packed, filthy enclosure after a few years. However, a few seasonal chores done on a weekly basis will allow you to have a clean and dry enclosure all year round for many years to come!
Note: These seasonal maintenance tasks are geared towards the northern chicken keeper. I do not recommend that chicken keepers in southern regions implement this method because their flock will be dealing with warmer temperatures all year round. Check out Regional Chicken Keeping Considerations for more information on regional chicken care.
Fall Maintenance
Since you more than likely laid the groundwork for the enclosure in the summer or fall, your first maintenance chores will be fall maintenance chores. In the fall, you have four maintenance tasks:
- clean up feathers from molting
- get some straw
- turn the litter weekly
- fill in any holes (first year task)
First Year Fall Task:
If this is your first year implementing this enclosure maintenance system, you may notice some areas you missed in your groundwork throughout the fall. As the new litter layer gets walked over and sorted through by your flock, it will settle. You may notice some dips and holes that need to be filled in with more litter. Fill those spots in immediately and make sure the enclosure has a level layer of litter before winter maintenance becomes necessary.
Note: Filling in holes and low spots should be a task that only needs to be done when you are first starting off. If those problems continue to persist, that is a sign that your initial layer of litter was not thick enough.
Weekly Fall Tasks:
Cleaning up feathers should be an every-other-week task and turning the litter should be a weekly task. You don’t have to be nit-picky about cleaning up the feathers! Leaving some feathers in the enclosure will actually aid the composting process. However, since it is molting season, it is a good idea to rake up a lot of the feathers and remove them to keep the enclosure from getting too messy. As for turning the litter, simply take a rake and rake over the top few inches of the litter to keep it loose. Loose litter dries out faster, allows for proper moisture management, and promotes the composting process.
Seasonal Fall Task:
The last task for the fall is getting straw. Whether you use straw in the coop or not, getting straw for the enclosure is an essential step for maintaining your enclosure. Straw is your brown material (carbon) that will get the composting process under way. The chicken droppings provide the green material (nitrogen) that is also essential to the composting process.
Get enough straw to make a thick layer in your entire enclosure. Also, get extra straw to last you throughout the winter since you will need some for winter enclosure maintenance.
Every fall you will be adding this layer of straw to your chicken coop enclosure. It will provide fresh composting material that will get you set up for maintaining a clean, dry enclosure throughout the following winter, spring, and summer. Straw not only gets the composting process underway for another season, but it also can help your flock deal with winter time issues like frostbite and cold stress.
Once you add straw to your enclosure, turning the litter on a weekly basis will involve stirring up the straw so that it remains loose and dry.
Winter Maintenance
Come winter time, your enclosure should have a nice layer of thick litter topped with a layer of straw. In the winter, you have three enclosure maintenance tasks:
- add more straw
- turn the straw weekly
- remove any wet clumps or straw mats
Weekly Winter Tasks:
Every week during the winter you should invest a little time in turning up the straw. You don’t need to remove any droppings, just stir them right into the straw. This will prompt the composting process. As the composting process builds, the straw will decompose with the droppings.
That’s why adding more straw is important. The chickens are already adding a constant supply of green material (poop) on a regular basis, so you need to be adding more brown material on a regular basis. The cycle of composting, turning, and adding more composting materials will add to the litter layer. This process should keep the top layer of the litter loose and dry. In turn, you will have a clean enclosure without even removing any droppings and you will have a dry enclosure because everything is loose and well-draining.
I recommend adding more straw every other week or as needed throughout the winter months.
If wet clumps or mats of straw do form, remove those immediately. Sometimes that happens if there is a concentrated area of droppings that gets walked over frequently, or if lots of precipitation blows into the enclosure without enough time for the litter to dry out. However, whatever you remove, make sure you replace with fresh straw in equal amounts.
Spring Maintenance
Spring is when wet and muddy enclosures really become an issue. However, if you laid your groundwork well and kept up fall and winter maintenance, spring-time mud shouldn’t be too big of an issue! Here are your spring enclosure maintenance tasks:
- turn the litter on a weekly basis
- rake the litter into piles
- remove wet clumps or large quantities of extra straw
- note refill spots (first year task)
First Year Spring Task:
If this is your first year implementing this enclosure maintenance method, you may have noticed some low spots that got missed during the fall touch-up or that developed over the winter time.
Take note of any spots that have trouble staying drying throughout the spring. Don’t try filling them in right now, just make a note of where they are. If you try filling them in while they are still wet, you’ll just create mud.
To deal with spring time wet holes, simply cover them with boards, pallets, or other materials that will keep the chickens from having to walk through them or wanting to drink from them.
Weekly Spring Tasks:
By the end of the winter, the continual composting process should have left you with a good additional layer of litter on top of the thick layer you laid down during groundwork. You will have this additional layer every spring if you continue with this enclosure maintenance system every year. The additional layer of litter will be a mixture of compost, construction-grade sand, straw, and droppings.
Now you will want to stop adding extra straw in preparation for the warmer spring and summer months. That means no more brown material will be added to the composting process, however, that doesn’t mean that composting will stop. Green material will still be added thanks to the chickens, and there will still be plenty of leftover brown material from the winter.
If you continue to rake and turn the litter every week, the composting process will still be stimulated. Weekly turning is especially important during the spring to keep the composting materials from becoming compacted and hard. Another thing you will want to start doing in the spring is piling up the litter.
While you are raking it, rake it into several piles in various locations around the enclosure. You want the piles to be fairly large. I like to rake the litter in my enclosures up against the sides of the enclosures to keep it piled up and out of the way. The piling of the leftover brown material and new green material will stimulate composting. Stuff on the bottom of the pile will start to compost faster and turn into nice enclosure litter.
Inevitably your chickens will sort through your piles, which actually helps with oxygenating the composting materials. That means each week you will be creating new piles with new compostable green material (chicken poop).
Seasonal Spring Task:
During the spring, there are a few additional spring enclosure tasks. First, you will want to be aware of any large clumps of wet litter. Remove any super wet clumps of litter to prevent bacteria from building. Hopefully your constant raking and thick layer of litter will be enough to promote proper drainage, however, sometimes constant rain or concentrated droppings can cause wet straw mats to form. Any matted straw clumps should be removed.
If the litter gets damp from a spring rain or melting snow, that’s okay. Allow it to dry out and then immediately rake and turn it. The groundwork and seasonal maintenance you did should help the litter be well-draining and dry out quickly.
Another spring task you may have to do is remove extra straw if there is too much in the enclosure. The key here is don’t remove too much straw/compost mixture. Basically, if you don’t think the straw will compost down fast enough before warm weather comes, you will want to remove some.
Just remove the big stuff, leave any composting material and try to get as little sand as possible when you are removing the straw. If you remove too much straw or sand, there won’t be enough to compost down throughout the summer and you will have to refill the enclosure litter come fall.
Leave enough straw and composting material to make piles around the enclosure when you rake on a weekly basis.
Summer Maintenance
During the summer you will basically just want to make sure a composting system stays in place so that you can manage the droppings and keep a clean enclosure. Here are your summer enclosure maintenance tasks:
- pile the litter on a weekly basis
- add more sand (first year task)
First Year Summer Task:
Summer would be the time to fill in any holes you noticed during the spring. The enclosure should be dried out and you can easily make it level again by filling in any dips. Again, this task should only need to be done after your first winter of implementing this enclosure maintenance method.
The following fall, winter, and spring should go much easier for you now that you have all the trouble spots figured out, filled in, and leveled. Just remember to keep raking on a weekly basis to ensure the top layer of litter stays loose and dry.
Weekly Summer Tasks:
During the summer you will just be making piles of composting material in the enclosure. Rake any leftover straw, droppings, and composting material into piles at least once a week. The piling method allows everything to continue to break down, compost, and increase the litter. It also helps manage droppings and keeps them from building up and becoming a manure problem.
The whole process of composting and generating new litter is what makes this method work. Each year, your enclosure will be generating its own new layer of composted litter. This will help keep a thick layer of litter in the enclosure that will prevent wet spots and puddles from forming. It also helps manage droppings without you having to remove them every week!
If your flock free-ranges a lot during the summer, you may only have to rake the enclosure every other week since your chickens won’t be spending a lot of time in the enclosure.
With a good groundwork laid, all you will have to do now is the simple fall, winter, spring, and summer maintenance tasks to keep your enclosure clean and dry all year round! The main essentials are a loose top layer of litter and a strong composting system. A little raking, piling, and turning will promote a healthy compost system. A healthy compost system will control droppings and generate new litter. All that will create a healthy flock with a clean enclosure!
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by Alexa
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