Poop board convert *warning-graphic/gross poop pictures* - Page 68

I've seen mine peck at the PDZ a bit here and there, but never ate it in any quantity. Like spoiledchicken said, it just works like grit for them anyway.

 

 

 

I talked with my local feed store and got them to start carrying PDZ. Before I had to go about an hour to the Tractor Supply to get it! They priced it a little higher, but at least I can get it locally now.

Thanks for the info. My husband and I jus built 4 breeding pens and it would make things a lot cleaner to put that in their coops. I' ll try it

 

 

Yep, you would really benefit from having a cupola added to the roof there.....however mating it to the curved roof might be problemativ and then allowing for the opening and closing vent from inside etc.....

Might just bee easier to put vents into the vertical wall at both ends, but be sure to put some kind of opening and closing mechanism to allow for weather changes throughout the year.

Okay, I tried wading through the 68 pages of this post string trying to find an answer to this question, but then gave up- lots of other great info though.

 

So how deep does the tray have to be for the PDZ to be deep enough? I have a plywood board that we are using as the board, but how tall should the lip/sides be? 1"? 2"?  We are trying to finish our coop tomorrow am so quick answers would be really appreciated :)

I haven't gotten mine built yet but it looks like several people used 2 x 4 so I would say at least 4 inches deep

i think I read someone recommending that they use 1" x 4" (1" so that the chickens wouldn't want to hang out on the lip) but 4" seems so deep- we have to mount the lip on top of the plywood so it would end up being 3 1/2" inches deep. 

Edited by wahmommy - 1/31/13 at 5:06pm

We used 1 x 4 to frame out the trays. I wouldn't go any less than that. You really do need some depth to it or it makes it much harder to scoop out. You aren't going to fill it right to the top anyway, this gives you some room to scoop and not push it out on the floor. Also if you are in a cold climate like I am, in the winter sometimes the poop will freeze to the bottom of the tray. The deeper it is the less that happens. I use a putty knife to scrape/pop it off when it does happen.

Just 1 inch works for me. In my old coop I have a 1 x 5 inch board cut in half so that it really is a 3/4 x 2 inch piece that runs the length of my poop tray. I usually have 3/4 to 1 inch of PDZ mixed with DE in that tray. In my new coop I have used a 2 x 3 as the edge to 5/8 inch plywood and I have 1 to 1/2 inch of my PDZ/DE mix in the tray. I have a colander (plastic) that I sift the PDZ mix through. I have 12 feet of 20 inch wide poop tray that I sift daily. It takes me 10 minutes to do it. After I clean the trays and before I replace the removable roost...my chickens sometimes take a dust bath in it. I posted pictures of the interiors of my coops in my profile.