Little Tikes Playhouse coop in the Winter?

[aart]

You have some pretty impressive build skills.

Looks hard to clean roost boards tho....but I don't 'reach' well.
Envy your wifi cam.
Only time will tell if there's enough ventilation.

Tell us more about the thatch roof.

Hope you post some updates here periodically.

 

[bluema]

Thanks aart! I'm no carpenter, but I do strive to get things done right.

The playhouse did end up getting taller than I anticipated because I had to line it up with my existing run to allow them to sit flush. The run's roof rafter with angled pitch had to go across and between the groove of the playhouse window stone molds that were protruding far out - you can kinda see this on my inside run pic.This took accurate and precise measuring, a major PIB ....

If I were building a coop and its run at the same time, I probably wouldn't have had to deal such predicament. However, I do like the resulting run height because the lower part of the run is much more usable, and I'm able to hang my 16 lbs feeder tall off the ground.

To clean the poop boards, I do have to get into the coop through the front door with a step stool. I'm currently experimenting one roost without a poop board (near the door), and one with, and trying to decide on which configuration I like more. When I spy on the girls through my security cam, they don't seem to mind either side and they've all found their favorite spots equally divided between the two roosts. The sweet PDZ, I'm finding out, is a very dusty product with lung cancer (mesothelioma) hazards, so I might just get rid of the poop boards in the long run. This will remove any reach issue, and I won't need to get into the coop with my front clean access. I have a dog kennel pan sitting on top of vinyl flooring, so it slides right out.




The installed cams aren't wifi. I do have IP wifi cams (not used around coop), but they're not nearly as clear and useful as wired cams. I have an 8 CH security cam DVR for my house, so I hooked it up with the coop and run's tiny IR HD bird cams for motion sensor recorded footage. I'm able to tell exactly who's laying eggs, and what the girls are up. This is a lot of fun.

The Mexican thatch runner wasn't cheap so I'm going to see how long it'll lasts out there in the elements and replace as needed. My husband thought the original playhouse was ugly, so I thought to decorate it. I didn't want to compromise the waterproof poly structure, so it's draped on top and secured around the chimney post. I had to double layer the thatch because a single layer wasn't adequate. The thatch, however, significantly improved the heat retention in the coop, so I've decided to add thermal bubble foil insulation on the ceiling. The wifi thermometer came in handy for noticing the huge difference.

 

[aart]

Are you using the granulated PDZ or the powdered?

The granulated is still a bit dusty, I mix it with sand only use less than 1/2" deep, but it sure does wonders absorbing ammonia.

 

[bluema]

I bought both types... It was tough to find powdered PDZ, but I managed to get my local farmer's coop to order 2 bags for me because I read Thespoiledchicken's posts that she found powdered PDZ less dusty (???) and she prefers it over granular PDZ. Do you like granules better? I have an unopened bag, so I may try that next.

I've used sand in my previous coop for years, and didn't like how it retained bits of strained poops and smell even when regularly scooped out. I also didn't like adding gritty sand to my compost pile, so I had to throw it away in the woods. I went all PDZ on the poop board for this reason but after the very first scooping, I coughed all night and then found recent studies of how zeoolite is very carcinogenic when inhaled and it's definitely associated mesothelioma. For now I'm using organic vapor respirator mask when cleaning out coop, but this seems silly for frequent coop maintenance required for poop boards. I also see clearly through my cams that whenever the girls fly by or hop across the roosts, they create sweet pdz dust in the coop. If it's not good for human, it's probably not good for the birds, and I'm wondering if a bit of ammonia smell may be better than zeolite dust. Once and if my 3 bags of 40 lbs pdz are gone, I may not repurchase.

 

[aart]

I bought both types... It was tough to find powdered PDZ, but I managed to get my local farmer's coop to order 2 bags for me because I read Thespoiledchicken's posts that she found powdered PDZ less dusty (???) and she prefers it over granular PDZ. Do you like granules better? I have an unopened bag, so I may try that next.

I've used sand in my previous coop for years, and didn't like how it retained bits of strained poops and smell even when regularly scooped out. I also didn't like adding gritty sand to my compost pile, so I had to throw it away in the woods. I went all PDZ on the poop board for this reason but after the very first scooping, I coughed all night and then found recent studies of how zeoolite is very carcinogenic when inhaled and it's definitely associated mesothelioma. For now I'm using organic vapor respirator mask when cleaning out coop, but this seems silly for frequent coop maintenance required for poop boards. I also see clearly through my cams that whenever the girls fly by or hop across the roosts, they create sweet pdz dust in the coop. If it's not good for human, it's probably not good for the birds, and I'm wondering if a bit of ammonia smell may be better than zeolite dust. Once and if my 3 bags of 40 lbs pdz are gone, I may not repurchase.

I vaguely recall seeing this before and it makes no sense to me.
Yes, I use granulated and it is dusty when sifting, some of the dust comes from the PDZ, some comes from the sand, some comes for pulverized poop and feather dander.
Part of why I use less of it than some folks, less to sift equals less dust and less time trying not to breathe it.
Dry will equal dusty in a coop and dry is good in my book despite the dust breathing aspect.

 

[bluema]

Right..It didn't make intuitive sense when I first read it, but she mentioned it several times over few years span of her posts and experience. That's why I bought the powder, but also got the granular form as well to try it out myself. I know dust I see on the cam is sweet pdz + dander ,but I see fine completely white powder dust layered on walls and Lexan sheet far up the coop, which I never saw before while using sand. Shavings, sand or sweet PDZ or not, wearing respiration mask is probably best practice, but the poop board may come down to reduce the maintenance frequency. Although I don't have trouble going inside the coop now, I may in few years as I get less agile.

 

[aart]

Right..It didn't make intuitive sense when I first read it, but she mentioned it several times over few years span of her posts and experience. That's why I bought the powder, but also got the granular form as well to try it out myself. I know dust I see on the cam is sweet pdz + dander ,but I see fine completely white powder dust layered on walls and Lexan sheet far up the coop, which I never saw before while using sand. Shavings, sand or sweet PDZ or not, wearing respiration mask is probably best practice, but the poop board may come down to reduce the maintenance frequency. Although I don't have trouble going inside the coop now, I may in few years as I get less agile.

You could use the poop boards without the PDZ, just take them down and scrape them off.
If you don't use boards you will have to see how the ammonia builds up in the shavings and how you'll deal with that.
Poop will always have to be dealt, with especially in a small coop/high population situation.

 

[bluema]

I know I can use vinyl sheet or fiberglass sheet to simply scrape off poo with putty knife. I've covered the poop boards base with vinyl flooring sheet so I can do that even now, but in the long run I may not want to climb into the coop. My husband certainly will never do it. lol

I can simply replace the pine shavings weekly as I have done in the past. With the dog kennel pan, it only takes 3 minutes to slide out and replace shavings. It is also possible I'll just do away with pine shavings and go back to sand scooping on the floor, and give up coop poop composting.
Besides I get enough from the run's deep litter method.

In any case, I check up on my girls often and I have no ammonia problem for now.
I don't know about you, but I find there's no perfect solution to chicken poo maintenance and I find myself going back and forth depending on which aspect is more troubling for the time being. That's why I have only one poop board in place for now.

 

[bestnestbox]

This is so cute!! We catch the nighttime roost manure by hanging tarps with spring clamps under the roost bars. Not sure if you would want to spoil the cuteness though.

 

[bluema]

This is so cute!! We catch the nighttime roost manure by hanging tarps with spring clamps under the roost bars. Not sure if you would want to spoil the cuteness though.

Oh I think I've seen an example of this once on a forum. A good idea as long as your chickens won't fumble and fall or catch their feet tangled on the tarps.

My girls still seem unsure and clumsy in/around the coop, so I decided to make the poop boards lightweight for removal but as sturdy as possible so that they won't budge even if they step or jump on them. The main issue I had was to make the small space configured to be as functional as possible with max usable sq ft. Yes... all this trouble to maintain the cuteness and to keep the coop size small near the house. sigh...

I can simply lay in another cut piece of vinyl flooring in the poop boards so that I can lift it out for cleaning, but for now I'm still experimenting with sweet PDZ to figure out its true usefulness. After seeing all the fuss on forums, I HAD to try it out at least.

Here's a closeup of my poop board to show you better detail. I was very limited in what I could do given what I had to work with.