Cleaning the Coop...

Once we got the run built, 

I thought I would treat the ladies to some clean digs!

(Had to kick them out somewhere so I could get the deed done.)

First, I rounded up all of the necessary tools required:

A spare snow shovel was re-purposed into a coop scraper.

A paint scrapper for the hard to get areas.

A cloth for wiping down surfaces.

An old jug of apple cider vinegar.  (recommended by the blogger The Chicken Chick)

Most of these items I had rounded up and actually 

hung from the outside wall of the shed.

I removed all of the milk crates we chose for nesting boxes.

I hosed them down and let them dry in the sun.

I shoveled the old hay and leavings into a wheelbarrow

and trucked it directly to a black plastic composter by the garden.

We'll keep it in that bin (adding some leaves and some food waste) until its rich black earth!

  I added some fresh hay and reinserted the milk crates.

I wiped down the shelf and the roost with the vinegar and the cloth.

The walls got a wipe down too.

NOT TO SELF:  Do not use cloth in future

(It was gross by the end...I'll be sure to pick up some sponges from the 

dollar store for the end of the year big clean)

NEW!

On loan from our friend Blaine:

A galvanized chicken waterer!

He had it at his trailer...for the chipmunks...

Pretty convenient for us, I might say!

We put it up on a cement block that we dug up from one of the old garden beds.

It's great to have the waterer up higher.

The hay and waste doesn't get in the water trough, so it stays fairly clean for a few days!

BONUS!

So what do you think of the coop so far???

Sound off below...