Brand New Chicken Owner With Poop Related Questions

[aart]

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.

Yeah, that front edge there is a prime spot to try to fly up and land on.
Not sure the duct tape will hold up long term, might want to think about putting a 2x2 or 1x3 across there, covering that sharp edge and screwed into the end supports.
But hat might interfere with cleaning the poop tray.
Time will tell as you go along,sometimes you've got to live with a thing for awhile before you figure out the best way to do it.
Don't be afraid of changing things up if they are not working.
I use deck and dry walls screws for a lot of chicken building, easy to drive - easy to change out.
It's a long year of learning, that first year...like getting a sip of water out of a fire hose...haha!
There are so many little things amongst the big things! Chicken keeping becomes much easier the second year IMO.

 

[Tisnelda]

Here are some photos of our setup. We lock them in the coop at night, but I'm already planning to change my window screen to hardware cloth. I can close the window to secure them, but I'm afraid that will be too hot mid-summer. The coop is about 3 ft x 5.5 ft. and 48 inches tall inside (42 in. at the back). I built 2 nesting boxes on the left wall with an egg door. The poop shelf is above the nesting boxes and roost above that. Run is 36 square feet. As you can see we built it all in around the existing play set

Here's my best attempt at interior photos. My hubby made me a v-shaped poop tray out of scrap aluminum. I hoped the v shape would discourage roosting, but they found the cozy little spot between the tray and the wall. I propped a piece of plywood there just now to see if that solves the problem. You can also see the chickens laying in front of the nesting boxes I just blocked off as well.

Finally here's the girls. Louisa, Brigitta and Gretyl. (What can I say. I'm an elementary music teacher.) We are very excited to have this backyard project and I'm so glad I have my summer off to get comfortable with the routine before I go back to work! Thanks for all of your input and help!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Louisa, Brigitta and Gretyl...one of my wife's favorite movies.

 

[Tisnelda]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I know we need to amp up the predator proofing. The chicken wire/hardware cloth is a sore spot right now. I wanted hardware cloth, but hubby (who is less on board with the whole chicken idea) thought the project was getting way too expensive. I insisted chicken wire wasn't strong enough.....he insisted it would be just fine. He is very handy and smart, and builds things for a living, so it's hard to argue with him. Once the chickens were here and my dog came into the yard it took about 5 mins for him to realize I was right. My dog hasn't hurt the chickens or anything, but seeing her interested in getting in makes the chicken wire look pretty dinky. Now we have to undo the wire and redo what we already did with hardware cloth! For now I'm letting it go while the ego is still freshly bruised, lol. The coop is secure at night, and the yard has constant traffic during the day. I'm home all summer, there are dozens of neighborhood kids in my yard all the time (even when we're not home), and my dog is never out without me. I'll get it all secured by fall with an apron to boot.

As for the compost situation, I have a compost heap that I plan to dump the manure into and mix it in. We add lots of grass clippings and table scraps, plus coffee grounds, newspaper, leaves, etc. Plus I'll be replacing the pine shavings in the coop somewhat frequently and those will go in, too! Do you think that mixes it in enough? What is the danger to putting it on the plants too soon? Killing the plants? Or harming the people who eat from the plants?

Thanks so much for all of your help and concern! I would never be brave enough to take on this endeavor without all the fabulous resources and people on BYC!

 

[bobbi-j]

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.

 

[Mrs. K]

That is how mine is chicken wire to keep the chickens in and welded wire to keep predators out.

As for the safety issue - it is impossible for me to say with out me being there, but some general rules:
Always wash what you eat from the garden, that will get rid of most germs, even a rinse with the garden hose will drastically reduce any bacteria on the food. And as for the plants, try it in small areas first, if they thrive - you have the mixture right, if they burn - it is too strong.

Mrs. K

 

[aart]

Is that a raw edge of aluminum.....or is it crimped over??

Some of my birds sleep on the edge(2x2) and a couple right on the poop board....but have sand/PDZ on there and sift all the poops out every other day.
I don't sweat it much, hard to change that habit, and haven't seen any terribly poopy birds<shrugs>.

I'd advise using a mixed litter in the run.
Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992

 

[Tisnelda]

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!

 

[Tisnelda]

Got it! Raw edges covered! Thanks again everyone!

 

[Tisnelda]

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.