Cleaning the Chicken Coop

 

     This is quite the elaborate chicken coop, one I would love to have.  I have two chicken coops and neither looks this good.  I have had my chickens (about 60) out running around the ranch.  It is time for them to go back into the chicken coop so I plant my garden, so the long dreaded job of cleaning my coops is here.  A very important rule for all of you gardeners to remember, YOU CAN’T HAVE CHICKENS RUNNING AROUND AND A GARDEN TOO!

           My sweet husband (I say that because there were many other things he had to do on the ranch today but helped me instead) and I went about the job today, both coops needed to be cleaned out and the chicken waste taken to the garden.  As I look out my window toward the garden I see some of the chickens happily rooting through the poop that was dumped in the garden like it is some kind of delicatessen.   Why couldn’t they have got rid of it while they were in the coop rather than make me haul it out and have to don a mask and dig through their garbage?  Chickens will eat anything, including each other (YUCK).

 

            Be careful with your chicken waste because it needs to be put in the garden sparingly as it can burn your plants if too much is put in and it isn’t broken down well.  It is wonderful to put in your compost pile, especially if it has broken down (not too fresh).

 

          I love my chickens but now is another time I would like to be like Martha Stewart and say “today I cleaned out the chicken coop” without having to set a foot in it.