Dropping Boards?

[Kerilou]

I am so happy to see this thread!
I am new, and my hubby is currently working on our coop...
He built the nest boxes and put up the roosts last night...Dropping boards!! He will hear about this as soon as he gets home from the woods!
So glad I am here!
Keri

 

[spottedtail]

I'd suggest a screen between the roosts and the dropping board.
A 2" by 4" wire mesh works perfect. The hens can walk on it, but their feet stay out of the manure.

spot

 

[Amethyste]

I had a screen for a good while and I had issues with the droppings not going all the way thru and building up. It was just a bit nasty for us... the board works so much easier for us cos the poop just dries right there and then its gone.

I know the girls stil walk in it a little, but its cleaned out every day and I know there isnt much residue at all from it, unlike when i had to scrape the wire and still would get buildups

 

[mdbokc]

I use the screen. A garden trowel drawn across it vibrates any droppings on the screen and cause them to fall onto the board. Takes all of up to 15 seconds when necessary. I used standard chicken wire. No build up was ever experienced. Also, I have found that as the girls lay more and get past the newness, the eggs that fall onto the screen has dramatically dropped to none for some time. But I had several in the beginning end up on the screen.

 

[patandchickens]

If I used a screen I wouldn't be able to clean it in under 10 seconds every morning, which to me is one of the major points of a droppings board (to expedite removal of poo/moisture/ammonia from the coop ASAP).

Although of course I realize different people use droppings boards/pits for different reasons and in many different ways, so this would not apply to everyone's situation.

Pat

 

[mdbokc]

Not to beat a dead horse. But even with the screen, the poo can be pulled off with a short 1 x 2 into a small pan in less than 30 seconds without any difficulty, certainly less than a minute (16 linear feet, 2 feet wide). I timed myself this morning.

Add another 15-30 seconds to clean the screen if necessary. Now, I am never in a hurry to get in and out of the coop. I enjoy being in there with the girls and looking to see if something has happened that needs attention. Take the poo to one of the the garden areas. Change the water, check feed level, etc. Takes about 5 minutes total puttering around.

That said, now that I have seen the eggs on screen appears to be a situation for birds early in the laying period, I would build the screen frame for eventual removal when not needed. Just one less thing to monitor at some point.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Well there ya go, that's the difference then -- I have to leave a 2 yr old and a 5 yr old in the house for a coupla minutes to dash out to check and turn out the chickens in the morning. The 10 seconds it takes me now to clean the poo board is all I can spare, to put it mildly

Pat

 

[animal_lover03]

I'm new with chickens and dont have a droppings board under the roosts, but I think I'm going to make one now, only a small amount of chickens can make alot of poop.

 

[McCord6]

Hubby is thinking about putting sheet metal under the roost with a "lock" to hold it in place. When it is time to clean, just "unlock" it and take it out and hose it down and then put it right back.

 

[Kerilou]

My hubby came home and immediately had a plan figured out how to intregrate this idea into his already finished roosts and nest boxes!!
Thanks for all the input!