Chicken coop dust?!

[Chickadooo]

I use pine shaving flakes for the floor inside the coop which is 112 sq foot in size. I've been trying the deep litter method. This is my first flock, they JUST started laying. It seems so so dusty inside... Whenever they fly down off the roost it gets so dusty. Is that normal or should I be doing something different? Wondering what your opinions are on how often to add a layer of shavings. Its winter here in Michigan, lows of 15-20. I have 10 hens.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Could we get a picture of your setup?
Do you have enough ventilation?
How deep is your shavings?

Yup, coop does get dusty even with DLM ... It's probably their "dander" from their preening and feathers, normal. I add more shavings as needed, I try to keep mine about 4" deep cause it's on dirt ground. Makes for more dust cause mine are confined to their Chicken House (Coop/Run Combo) & all the scratching they do. Due to our weather here, it's open air so lots of ventilation ... but it does get dusty.

 

[Chickadooo]

Could we get a picture of your setup?
Do you have enough ventilation?
How deep is your shavings?

Yup, coop does get dusty even with DLM ... It's probably their "dander" from their preening and feathers, normal. I add more shavings as needed, I try to keep mine about 4" deep cause it's on dirt ground. Makes for more dust cause mine are confined to their Chicken House (Coop/Run Combo) & all the scratching they do. Due to our weather here, it's open air so lots of ventilation ... but it does get dusty.

I don't have a picture of it.. It's cold and dark or I'd go out and take a picture lol. Thanks for the reply!

 

[azygous]

Chickens make their own dust, and no matter how clean you try to keep the coop, it's going to be dusty. I've experimented with pine shavings, even wood chips, and finally have sand in both coops and runs.

A couple years ago, I even dug out every grain of sand and tossed it. Then I took my shop vac and sucked up all the loose dust from the clay sub-layer. Then I sprayed all of this clay with a dust management liquid, let it dry, then brought in spanking new sand. I didn't want to spray the sand since chickens eat it for grit, and the company refused to assure me their product was safe for poultry.

Within a month it was all as dusty as it was before. About the only thing that occasionally gives both the chickens and me a break from the dust is hosing it down during summer heat waves. But then it dries, and it's dusty again.

I would love to find a solution. Maybe your thread will get lucky and someone will have The Great Idea for dust control. (That won't kill chickens)

 

[blackdog043]

Yes, dust inside the coop is normal. I use pine shavings for my coop(8 x 12) floor also. I start out with a few inches and add more as needed, through out the year. I also add some straw and sprinkle with sweet PDZ. I clean it out once a year, it doesn't smell.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

Mine sometimes take a dirt bath right before bedtime and the cameras keep going off when they shake and clouds of dust start to settle to the ground.

 

[aart]

Yes, dust inside the coop is normal. I use pine shavings for my coop(8 x 12) floor also. I start out with a few inches and add more as needed, through out the year. I also add some straw and sprinkle with sweet PDZ. I clean it out once a year, it doesn't smell.

I do about the same^^^^ plus we both use poop boards with PDZ.

Any surface that isn't regularly 'touched' is covered with a thick layer of dust.
Even worse is the rest of the shed outside the coop enclosure.
Every year in fall I get the shop vac out and suck some of it up when I close the awning windows.

Ron P has an ingenious way to handle dust.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dust-no-more.68161/