Cleaning chores are part of life on the farm, but they don’t have to take all day. Whether tending chickens or caring for barn animals, the right tricks can make it easier and quicker to clean coops and stalls.
Hacks for Cleaning Chicken Coops Faster
Sometimes it’s the little tricks that make the biggest difference. These quick hacks can save you time, cut down on mess, and keep your flock’s home fresher with less effort.
1. Install Droppings Boards or Trays Under Roosts
Most of the mess ends up under the roost bars. A removable board or tray catches it all in one spot so you can scrape it off in seconds instead of stripping bedding every time.
2. Use Poop Hammocks or Shelf Liners
Stretch washable shelf liner or plastic under perches. When it’s dirty, just roll it up, dump it, and hose it off. This keeps droppings contained and makes weekly cleanouts much easier.
3. Toss Herb Sachets in Nesting Boxes
Lavender, mint, or oregano sachets not only smell nice but also help deter pests. They keep nesting areas fresher and mean less scrubbing between bedding changes.
4. Layer Sand or Coop Refresher Under Bedding
Think of it like kitty litter for chickens. A base layer of sand or a coop refresher to absorb moisture and ammonia, making bedding last longer and cleanouts less frequent.
5. Do a Quick Night Sweep While Hens Are Roosting
Keep a small scoop or brush near the coop. A quick 2-minute pass at night, when the chickens are roosting and out of the way, keeps buildup from piling up. Less in the morning means faster weekly chores.
6. Try the Deep Litter Method
Why shovel the whole coop every week if you don’t have to? With the deep litter method, you add a fresh bedding layer on top of the old. The bottom layers compost slowly, trapping odor and moisture while giving you ready-made garden fertilizer.
To make it work well:
- • Start with a thick base layer (about 4–6 inches).
- • Add a few handfuls of fresh bedding whenever droppings start to build up.
- • Give it a quick stir with a rake now and then to keep air flowing through.
Over time, you’ll have a warm, composting floor that helps insulate the coop in winter and saves you from constant muck-outs. When it’s ready, you can clean it out a couple of times a year and enjoy a load of garden-ready fertilizer.
Bonus: Tried and True Chicken Coop Cleaning Tips
These aren’t flashy new hacks, but they’re the kind of everyday habits that keep coops manageable. Simple, reliable, and still worth doing, especially if you’re just getting started with chickens.
Choose the Best Bedding
The right bedding can make or break your cleaning routine.
- • Straw: Cheap and cozy, but holds moisture and can smell fast.
- • Sand: Drains well and scoops like cat litter, but heavy to haul.
- • Hemp: Absorbs odor and composts fast, which means less shoveling, but it's pricier.
- • Wood shavings: Affordable, absorbent, and easy to rake out (especially when you buy dust-free). Avoid cedar shavings for chickens.
If you’re looking for the best balance of easy cleaning and flock comfort, hemp and wood shavings are top choices. Check out How to Choose the Ideal Animal Bedding for more help.
Prioritize Ventilation
Good ventilation reduces moisture and ammonia, keeping bedding dry and usable longer. When your coop stays fresher, you spend less time swapping bedding and more time enjoying your flock.
Select Natural Pest Control
Infestations make any coop harder to clean. Staying ahead of pests keeps things simpler.
- • Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in bedding to deter mites.
- • Plant or hang herbs like lavender or mint near the coop to repel flies.
- • Seal feed to block rodents (and the messes they leave behind).
Use the Right Cleaning Tools
With the right tools, coop cleanouts become less of a chore and more of a quick routine.
- • Pressure washer: Blast away built-up dirt, droppings, and grime from floors and walls in minutes, saving you hours of scrubbing.
- • Leaf blower: Use to clear out loose feathers, cobwebs, and dust from rafters and corners.
- • Hose with nozzle: Perfect for rinsing down roosts, nest boxes, or floors between bedding changes with less elbow grease.
- • Scoop shovel: Essential for full cleanouts when it’s time to remove all the old bedding at once.
Consider a Portable Chicken Coop for Easier Maintenance
If you’ve got the space, portable chicken coops are a game-changer. Moving your birds to fresh ground keeps droppings from piling up in one spot, gives your soil a break, and cuts down on deep-clean days.
For more tools, read Chicken Coops, Runs, & Supplies.
Hacks for Cleaning Stalls with Less Effort
Little changes in how you muck can save you chunks of time.
1. Bank Shavings Against the Walls
Pile extra clean shavings along the stall walls or in a corner. When bedding gets low, just pull from the bank instead of hauling in a fresh load every time. It also helps keep wet spots from spreading.
2. Try the Throw-and-Roll Trick
Toss dirty bedding against the wall – the lighter shavings stick while the heavier manure rolls to the bottom. That makes it easier to scoop up the mess in one go without wasting good bedding.
3. Clean in Quadrants
Instead of darting around randomly, divide the stall into four sections and work through them one at a time. It keeps you organized, reduces missed spots, and cuts down on backtracking.
4. Use Pellets on Wet Spots
Keep a bag of wood pellets handy. Toss a scoop onto wet patches, and they’ll expand to soak up moisture fast. This saves you from digging out a huge area and makes spot-cleaning quicker.
5. Spot Train for Easier Mucking
Some horses naturally prefer one spot to poop in their stall. If yours tends to go against the same wall, you can encourage the habit to save cleaning time. Praise them when they use that area and leave part of a fresh pile of manure as a scent marker.
Just keep in mind this won’t work for every horse, but if yours already leans that way, it’s a simple way to make mucking faster.
Bonus: Classic Stall Cleaning Tips that Still Work
These are the basics every horse owner knows, but they stick around for a reason. They make stalls easier to manage day after day and are especially helpful for anyone new to barn chores.
Use the Right Stall Cleaning Tools
The tools you use every day can either slow you down or save you minutes on each cleanout. A few smart swaps can make the difference.
- • Stall forks with closely spaced tines are designed for horse bedding. They work like a giant kitty litter scoop, letting you grab waste without losing half your shavings.
- • Muck carts or wheelbarrows with flat-free tires save you from wrestling with flats and let you move more in one trip.
• Lightweight bedding rakes with ergonomic handles reduce strain and spread shavings quickly, so you’re not bent over fighting with piles.
Choose Good Bedding
Good bedding means less cleaning work overall:
- • Wood shavings: Absorbent and easy to rake out quickly.
- • Pellets: Expand as they get wet, locking in odor so you can spot-clean faster.
- • Straw: Cozy but less absorbent, which means more frequent changes.
- • Hemp: Highly absorbent, controls odor well, and composts faster than most bedding, which means fewer full cleanouts.
- • Sawdust: Soaks up moisture well but can be dusty for sensitive animals and must be cleaned regularly to avoid bacterial growth.
Consider Stall Mats
Thick rubber mats create a solid base that’s simple to sweep and hose down. They reduce how much bedding you need, which means less hauling, less waste, and cleaner horses.
Plus, by topping off bedding regularly and pairing it with mats, you stretch the time between deep cleanings while cutting your workload in half.
For more on stall mats, read High-Quality Stall Mats for Your Horse and How to Clean Horse Stall Mats.
Adopt Efficient Cleaning Routines
Cleaning stalls doesn’t have to take all day if you break it into smaller, more manageable steps:
- • Spot clean daily to remove manure and wet patches in minutes.
- • Full clean-outs weekly (or as needed) keep stalls fresh without constant heavy labor.
- • Layer bedding to trap moisture and reduce odors, which makes spot-cleaning quicker.
For fresher stalls between cleanings, sprinkle in a stall deodorizer. It absorbs ammonia and neutralizes odor, which means less time spent on deep cleans and a more comfortable space for your animals.
If you’ve got multiple stalls, try a rotational schedule so you’re never stuck doing them all at once.
Set up Natural Pest Control
With fewer pests, your stalls stay cleaner longer, cutting down on deep-clean cycles.
- • Fans keep air moving, making it harder for flies to settle.
- • Fly traps around your barn to catch flies before they spread.
- • Natural repellents like basil, lavender, and mint can be planted to discourage flies.
- • Sealed feed bins block rodents from sneaking in and leaving messes behind.
Plan Seasonal Deep Cleans
A seasonal deep clean keeps long-term chores lighter.
- • Power wash in spring and fall to blast away buildup quickly.
- • Disinfect with animal-safe cleaners to stop bacteria before it spreads.
- • Rotate animals out so you can clean without interruptions.
Once everything dries and is rebedded, stalls stay fresher, making daily cleaning easier.
Smart Cleaning = Happier Animals (and Farmers)
Keeping animals means cleaning is never really “done,” but it doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. A few small changes add up to a big difference in effort.
Stop by Wilco Farm Store or shop online for everything from bedding and stall mats to chicken coops – all the tools you need to keep your chores quick and your animals comfortable.
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