How to Keep the Dropping Board Clean Dropping board is a term used to describe the area directly below the roost bar in a chicken coop. It helps by collecting the manure and keeping it contained so that removal of the chicken manure is easy to complete. With chores, I always find that the easier they are to complete, the more likely that the chore will get completed. While chickens are sleeping on the roost at night, feces drop from them onto whatever is directly below. Not cleaning up … [Read more...]
Managing and Composting Chicken Manure
Composting chicken manure is a side benefit of raising chickens. This beneficial by-product must be managed before it can be used as a garden amendment. Chickens provide us with hours of companionship, fresh eggs, and......manure! Lots of manure. Approximately one cubic foot of manure is produced by each chicken in approximately six months. Multiply that by the six chickens in an average back yard flock and you have a mountain of manure every year! If you live on a farm, that may not be a … [Read more...]
Winter Chicken Coop Cleaning
Many chicken keepers don't do much winter chicken coop cleaning. When you notice a slight ammonia smell in the chicken coop, it's time to investigate the source. You may have to do a winter chicken coop cleaning. It's been colder here, recently. We had been steadily adding bedding to the coop during the cold snaps. I believe in using the "Deep Litter" method of coop maintenance during the winter. You can read my explanation of this here. Basically, you will continue to add dry bedding and … [Read more...]
