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

[M Rinier]

It looks great. Is there any danger of poo from the poo board hitting the feeders. That could be a bit nasty.....

 

[BScott03]

Ok, so my first coop was done without poop boards-I simply loaded up the floor with sand figuring that would be easy enough to sift the poop out of. Well, the plan sounded good in theory but I found it didn't work so good in reality. Don't get me wrong, the poop scoops out of the sand BUT- the sand SMELLS even after the poop is gone. Also, it is a dusty mess while scooping and I need to take frequent breaks just to breath fresh air. Still better though than changing out shavings weekly (I don't like DLM).

So when we built our 2nd coop we decided to try poop boards

WOW, what a difference. We built a waist high shelf and then added a lip all around and filled it with Sweet PDZ, LOVE IT!!!! I simply sift the poop up every day or two but you certainly can leave it longer if you had to. The Sweet PDZ keeps it from smelling at all. And the best part- NO DUST when scooping. It's almost like sifting flour. It is very zen like to clean and I tend to get carried away and make designs for my girls ( I know, I have issues

)

Anyway, thought I would share my experience and of course some pics

awesome coop! I Really love this idea and the sand! Thank you for sharing!

 

[nono]

Quote:
Thank you so much. Our coop (The Schoop) is a child's playhouse kit - in the design of a little schoolhouse, 8x8 - that we bought as a kit, and converted to a coop. It has two dutch doors, one that is child size in the front (which is the one in the picture) and an adult sized one on the opposite back side, which we use to enter the coop. We also cut in a pop door (not visible in this picture, that allows the chickens to access their secure covered run.) When we want to give them some free range time, we simply open up the small dutch door, and they all come running out. If I don't get the door opened fast enough, they jump out through the top window...very cute.

Also, it might not be clear in the picture, but our feeders are actually hanging centered under the poop board, so they are fully protected from droppings, (even if the chickens stand on the frame edge of the poop board.) The feeders unclip from the hanging chains to make removing for filling and cleaning easy breezy!

The elevated framed poop boards are a win-win situation, they increase the usable space within the coop, by giving you more options for the lower space, and when used with the Sweet PDZ, the coop stays odor free. I wouldn't have my coop set up any other way.

 

[nono]

Quote:

 

[annav410]

I am so glad I found BYC and this thread! We designed our poop boards/roosting bars based on this conversation. We modified one of the roosting bars to accomadate our large JG's so the one on the right in the picture is only ~1 foot off the ground. We have also blocked the nesting boxes (under the window) until the girls are closer to laying age. The higher one is about 4 feet. Question for a newbie: I have seen some with a ladder and some do not. Do you think my ladies will need this to get to the higher roost? Can they safely get down without a ladder?

Thanks again!

 

[kynewbchickie]

I am so glad I found BYC and this thread! We designed our poop boards/roosting bars based on this conversation. We modified one of the roosting bars to accomadate our large JG's so the one on the right in the picture is only ~1 foot off the ground. We have also blocked the nesting boxes (under the window) until the girls are closer to laying age. The higher one is about 4 feet. Question for a newbie: I have seen some with a ladder and some do not. Do you think my ladies will need this to get to the higher roost? Can they safely get down without a ladder?

Thanks again!

Nice setup!!!

I don't think your girls will have any trouble once they're fully-grown - chickens can get high up into places you wouldn't think they could. I had a friend suggest covering the loft opening in our coop because she had full-grown Jersey Giants that could go from floor to 6' high in one leap and a flutter of wings.

Until they're bigger, though, we've decided to give ours a small ladder/ramp so they 1)know where to go, as their instinct is to get up high before sleeping, and 2)to accommodate those little legs and wings in doing so.

4' shouldn't be a problem for a fully-grown chicken.

Again, very nice, clean setup you have!

 

[annav410]

Nice setup!!!

I don't think your girls will have any trouble once they're fully-grown - chickens can get high up into places you wouldn't think they could. I had a friend suggest covering the loft opening in our coop because she had full-grown Jersey Giants that could go from floor to 6' high in one leap and a flutter of wings.

Until they're bigger, though, we've decided to give ours a small ladder/ramp so they 1)know where to go, as their instinct is to get up high before sleeping, and 2)to accommodate those little legs and wings in doing so.

4' shouldn't be a problem for a fully-grown chicken.

Again, very nice, clean setup you have!

Thanks so much for your response!

 

[kynewbchickie]

I'm totally redoing the interior of our coop this coming weekend. I think my 8-weekers are old enough and well-able to get up to a poo board roosting area. I've got to clean out the coop this weekend anyway, so after I clean it out and remove the sweet PDZ that's on the floor under their roosts to sift it and reuse with another 25# bag, I'll be lowering the nesting boxes, building a 2.5'x8' poo board about 3' high, and raising the existing roosts to 4' and 5'. I've already hung their waterer and feeder on the other side of the coop near the nesting boxes, so this added space will be a fenced-in area for introducing new babies, caring for wounded/injured birds. I'll probably divide the area into TWO containment areas in the event that I need to sequester more than one bird, or have an injured bird along with younglings that are needing to be introduced. I don't want to get caught like I was this weekend with a badly injured bird and not have the space to isolate it, yet keep it near the flock. If I'd have had something like this already set up and in place, I might have been able to save the EE pullet we had to put down this weekend. She was so self-injurous, though, that even my crude containment area made her anxiety skyrocket and provoked more self-injury and destruction. It was really, really a sad day for me.

 

[LittleBits]

Day 19 Chicken Parents so we're pretty new to this! I love your coop!

How much poop in the coop is too much? How often should I be cleaning a 6'x6' coop that has a treated wood floor (it was a playhouse when the kids were little) These 36 square feet house 15 chickens and 1 rooster, mostly at night since it's been so nice these past few weeks. They go in and out at will during the day and of course lay their eggs all in one nest.

Have an outside fenced in area, about 10'x20' and they got the grass down to pure dirt in 4-5 days flat, if that much. (Better than our lawn mower, which doesn't work when it's suppose to...) Now they scratch and poop a lot out there - wondering how to deal with the outside poop as well? Lots of their food ends up on the ground and they EAT it whether it's close to their poop or not.

No food or water in the coop at this time - probably will need to fix something up for winter. Using straw in there but that is hard to get the poop out. I end up sweeping it all out and hauling it to the garden compost pile. Using too much straw as we have to buy it.

I am going to try to fix some kind of poop-board under their roosting spot. That might take care of most of it. They also go in the other nests, but not usually the one they all lay their eggs in. Thank-you chickens!

Any and all thoughts, instructions. and suggestions are most welcome! Help me be a better chicken mom!

Oh, and would I get that sweet pdz at a farm store? Going today, so I'll look there first...

 

[AdirondackChick]

My question is that we are getting 15 chickens in June..... wish it was sooner, but giving me the extra time to get our Chicken~Shanty (recycled/renovated ice fishing shanty) ready! How much Roost Bar should I have for 15 birds? I did read somewhere that I should have 12 inches or 1 foot per bird, is that correct or could I get away with less?

I plan on using the poo board and PDZ, but need to know how much roost bar space I will need when I design the inside of my coop. I will have 5x8 chicken space for them.