How to collect Chicken poop?

[ccarver80]

Got my new 8x10 shed all set up last night and got my chickens moved over reluctantly but I think they finally adapted.

I still have to build a roost and was thinking of an interesting way to collect the chicken poop? I've seen images of putting a tarp under the chicken roost?

Also what can I do with pure chicken poop???

 

[Lamaremybabies]

There is a thing called a poop board, you put it under your roost so when your chickens poop while on the roost it simply falls on the board and you scrape in into a bucket. Here is a link to the chicken chicks blog where she talks about them
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/droppings-boards-because-poop-happens.html?m=1

As for what you can do with raw chicken poop, it makes fantastic fertilizer for your plants. Or if you have a compost pile or are interested in started one it's good there. I myself don't save my chicken poop for anything but, I know lots of people do for that reason.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x Poop Board is GREAT! I put PDZ in mine & scoop with cat litter scooper, fast, easy & no mess. I ferment their feed so there's not as much poo plus it's not stinky and alot firmer! FF has nutritional benefits also, there's a thread here on FF (search FF or Ferment Feeding)

 

[aart]

I also use poop boards:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-178#post-18966048

All the poop goes into buckets which my buddies put in their compost piles.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We have a poop board filled with Sweet PDZ (to absorb odor and moisture). We use a mesh paper tray to clean-out and put the poo on the compost pile to use in the garden.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since the chickens aren't moving around at night, the poop will normally pile up under the roosts. There are a lot of different ways and variations you can use to get that poop out if the coop. You can put some type of droppings board under the roost, usually a foot wider than the roost works. Some might use a flat piece of plywood, some might put a piece of linoleum over that wood to make scraping easier. Some build a tray and fill it with sand, PDZ, wood shavings, or something else. Some even make that tray so it will slide out through the wall for easy cleaning. Some scoop the poop from that tray to save the bedding and some just change out all the bedding.

Some hang a tarp or canvas sling or hammock under the roosts. Others may use bins set on the floor or even shelves so all you have to do is empty out the bins. Some people put wire over those bins to keep the chickens out but others don't.

I built a brooder in the coop with the top of it a flat piece of plywood that acts as a droppings board. I scrape it as necessary. The brooder doesn't go all the way under the roosts so I put bins on the floor which gives me something to scrape the poop into.

I put a juvenile roost over my nests which makes a great place for the young chickens I'm integrating to sleep that's not my nests. You can see the brooder off to the right. As you can see I don't scrape them a lot.

Some people use sand or something else in the coop floor or in the run and scoop clumps of poop out of that to keep the poop from building up there, especially if they have tiny coops and runs common in suburbia. I'm not sure of you are talking about that. A trick to mix the poop with the bedding is to toss scratch or another treat on the bedding so the chickens mix it for you with their scratching. If you mix the poop up so the bedding keeps it dry you can go a lot longer between cleaning.

I put my pure poop in my compost. I've burned plants before when I put it straight in the garden so now I compost it. If you put it in the garden in the fall it will break down before planting season.

 

[ccarver80]

.
I put my pure poop in my compost. I've burned plants before when I put it straight in the garden so now I compost it. If you put it in the garden in the fall it will break down before planting season.

Is it better to get a bin for composting to keep chickens out or build something they can scratch around the pile?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Both work. If the chickens can get to the compost pile and it has something interesting in it, like bugs or kitchen or garden scraps, they will keep it turned for you. But unless it is contained they will spread it all over with their scratching so you can't collect it. You need four walls.

It's not a case of "better" it's which works for you.

 

[Patinas]

I use large plastic trays supported right under the roost bars to collect the nightly deposits and then daily, I just scrape the poop right into a compost bucket and then hose down the trays and put them back. Takes all of 10 minutes to get it done.

I chose this approach because I definitely think it helps keep the smells down and the fly load low during the warm season. Also give me an easy way of checking their poop daily to see if anyone is having an issue.

 

[aart]

Also give me an easy way of checking their poop daily to see if anyone is having an issue.

Definitely!