Brand New Chicken Owner With Poop Related Questions

bobbi-j said:

Instead of getting rid of the chicken wire and totally replacing with hardware cloth, another thought would be to get welded wire (ours is 2"x4") and just put over the top of the chicken wire.

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Tisnelda said:

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Tisnelda said:

It is a raw aluminum edge. I was kinda wondering the same thing. You think they'll hurt themselves on it? It isn't too sharp. It's relatively blunt, but yeah I was thinking maybe we should cover it. Maybe even just some duct tape on the edges?

Last night all 3 birds roosted on the roosting pole! 2 nights ago one girl slept up there and two in the pan, so I guess they followed suit for last night! I put newspaper on the pan last night and it had lots of poop in it this morning! Maybe the paper discouraged them from laying on it....or maybe they just figured it out. Either way, it works. Let's hope it sticks!

Thanks for the great info on the litter in the run. I'll have to read through it all. I'm sure I'll be playing around with that over the next few months to figure out what works best for us.

Thanks for all of the help and support everyone!

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Tisnelda said:

Good Morning BYC! I have tried to find the answers to the following questions, but couldn't find any strains that had them. I apologize if these are repeat and welcome a link to the strain if you are aware of one. Somehow all of these questions come back to poop!

We have 3 9-week-old pullets settling into their brand new coop and run. We're 3 days in and so far so good. I have 7 and 9 year old daughters who are very hands on. We want to hold and interact with the chickens. My absolute main priority is the health of my family and the health of the chickens. We wear only our rubber boots in the run, and I have been really focusing on teaching the girls good hand washing and careful handling.

First, the chickens are roosting at night (yay!), but they are choosing to sleep on the poop shelf instead of the bar just above it, so they are laying in a lot of poop. Any ideas for discouraging this and getting them to hop up a few more inches? Should I make the bar even higher? Right now it is just above the shelf.

Second, They immediately flocked to the nesting boxes for security when we brought them home, and now spend a great deal of their time hiding out there throghout the day. Is this a good thing, since they will see that as a safe/quiet place when it comes time to lay? Or should I be blocking them off from the nesting boxes so they don't continue to see it as a place to hangout and, you know lay in more poop!

Third, our run is currently grass. I know it won't stay that way, but for now they seem to be enjoying scratching and pecking at the grass and ground. Once again, poop is my concern. Should I be putting bedding in the run to help manage the poop? There is really no way for me to clean out the poop as it stands now.

Fourth, I have a garden and have been putting the poop that I clean out of the poop tray in the compost. I know it is high in ammonia and should not be applied directly to plants. Is there a general rule of thumb for how long the manure should break down before it is ready to be used as compost?

Thank you for all of your help. I'm afraid I'm being a little paranoid about all of the poop, the chickens laying in poop, and my daughters touching the chickens. I need some newbie reassurance.

Thanks again!

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Tisnelda said:

You'd think I'd have thought of that, but my brain didn't even think feet! I was trying to imagine whether they would somehow impale their sides on that thing, and decided that was highly unlikely, lol. Perching, gripping, feet! Duh!!!! Rookie mistake. Lol. I'm sure they'll be many more. And thanks. I hope to be a good chicken mama. I'm really trying.

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