How to Use Agricultural Lime for Chicken Coops

Agricultural hydrated lime helps keep the litter in a chicken coop more friable. This means that the lime keeps the litter crumbly and open to evaporation. Using lime prolongs the length of time between cleaning out the chicken coop, because the lime keeps the litter in the coop more absorbent and less likely to paste up or cake over. When feces cakes over, it has a nasty habit of trapping moisture in the litter. Moisture leads to unhealthy living conditions in the coop which can exacerbate respiratory diseases in chickens.

Things You'll Need

  • Plastic cup
  • Plastic coffee can
  • 5-gallon bucket
  • Scale
  • Flour sifter
  • Fresh litter
  • Pitchfork
  • Rubber gloves
  • Dust mask
  • Safety glasses
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Instructions

    • 1

      Count the number of laying hens you have in the chicken coop and then measure out 1 lb. of lime per hen. Set a plastic coffee can on top of a scale. Scoop the lime out of the bag with a plastic cup and pour it into the plastic coffee can until the scale reads 1 lb. Pour the pound of lime into a 5-gallon bucket. Repeat this process until you have measured out all of the lime.

    • 2

      Place the lime in a flour sifter and scatter it over the floor of the chicken coop. Hold the sifter close to the ground to minimize the dust cloud. Scatter the lime until a fine layer covers the entire floor of the coop. Only scatter the lime where litter is found.

    • 3

      Cover the lime with 1 inch of fresh litter, and mix the fresh litter, the lime and the old underlying litter with the tines of a pitchfork. Thoroughly mix the materials together to ensure the lime gets mixed in evenly.