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

[Noreaster Egger]

For those that have use BOTH Powder and Granuals.
1) Which is better (less dusty)
2)What other reason do you prefer one over the other

3) Anyone use it in the floor of the coop alone (no sand and or no/very little shavings ?

OH, and WHO used it as KITTY LITTER ??? Did it work ?

Sorry I read 45 pages and then the last 4 pages..

Page 46 had all of your answers.

Like the previous poster said...the granules are dusty enough. A couple of my girls like to walk through it or even pick at it before bedtime so I'd rather have the granules than the powder. I keep wanting to mix it with some ratio of sand, but never actually go through with it. Because of the dust, no thanks on using it as kitty litter.

I don't use it on the coop floor, but I do use koop clean in part of the run. It all goes into my compost eventually.

 

[Kusanar]

For those that have use BOTH Powder and Granuals.
1) Which is better (less dusty)
2)What other reason do you prefer one over the other

3) Anyone use it in the floor of the coop alone (no sand and or no/very little shavings ?

OH, and WHO used it as KITTY LITTER ??? Did it work ?

Sorry I read 45 pages and then the last 4 pages..

1) I have used the powder in a horse barn, it is surprisingly NOT dusty when used in that environment, rather than forming a dust cloud when you drop it from waist height, it hits the ground pretty quick. Now, in that environment, we would dig the wet sawdust out, then put down the PDZ and cover with 4-6 inches of sawdust/shavings so it never really got a chance to get airborn. The granules are certainly less dusty and in theory, could be rinsed and dried before using to get rid of even more dust.

2) I prefer the powder for fast removal of ammonia from the air, but the granules are easier to deal with and less dust. In a stinky horse stall, the ammonia could be making your eyes water, and as soon as you put a few cups of the powder down it would be clean air again in minutes. And that is before you buried it back under the shavings.

3) I don't have chickens, so I haven't used it in a coup, but I would imagine that it would get rather expensive to use it pure on the floor unless your coup is REALLY small. I would guess you would need at 3-4 bags for 4 square feet at about $10 a bag.

I used it as kitty litter for a while, I think I had it mixed with something, can't remember, it's been a while. When it was dry, they stirred up dust everywhere in the basement, when they would pee, since it's not actually absorbent, it would pool in the bottom of the box and overpower the PDZ. It MIGHT work if you rigged a way to drain the urine off of the bottom of the box so it wouldn't be just sitting there the whole day.

 

[Bordor Chicks]

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

Hi there!! Wondering if anybody tried the products called "Sirocco" or "Stable boy"? Can't find the Sweet pdz in my area but was suggested those two products by my local supply store. Looking online, I believe they do just about the same thing. Anybody know these?

Btw, I'm just in love with this idea thespoiledchicken!!! Thanks for posting!! Will get my DH to help me out with the poop deck !!!

 

[aart]

Hi there!! Wondering if anybody tried the products called "Sirocco" or "Stable boy"? Can't find the Sweet pdz in my area but was suggested those two products by my local supply store. Looking online, I believe they do just about the same thing. Anybody know these?

Look for the ingredient 'zeolite'.

 

[aart]

I put poop boards in when I built my coop last summer for 10 Large fowl chooks and I love them. I use shavings on floor and straw in nests.
2 feet wide luan (cheap 1/4 thk underflooring) with 2x2 around the edges lined with foam backed vinyl sheet flooring.
Roosts are 2x4 wide side up, 8" above board and removable, but I find I don't need to remove them and they rarely get pooped on.
My coop is only 6' wide so built ramps as they can't fly down easily without crashing into the wall.
Boards are waist high for my ease, feeder hangs underneath the board.

Boards have washed, dried sand and granular PDZ mixed at about a 4:1 ratio about 1 inch deep. I use this mix in my brooder too, at about 1/2" deep, as well.

I use a mesh office organizer basket as a sifter, a short handled hoe to carefully scrape vinyl and push into basket. I use a reptile poop scoop in the brooder as it stirs up less dust than the mesh basket. I dump the poops into a lidded bucket to go to compost. I made a 'leveler' to smooth the sand/PDZ back out to an even depth, screws in the edge of a 1x3x21 can be tilted to adjust depth.
Even in frigid winter, frozen watery poops scraped off the vinyl pretty easily.

I think the key minimizing dust is to use clean sand, but everything chicken will get dusty (really, really dusty) sooner or later.
The zeolite definitely helps with ammonia odor, but nothing quickly quenches the stench of a fresh cecal poop.
Oh, and, pullet poops are cute and nothing compared to adult chicken poops.

Pics for clarity and inspiration....more details on My Coop page.
Birds do hang out on boards during the day and some roost on the board itself or the edge...not really a problem.

Pullets 'hiding' from big birds.

Ramp....added another up to nest bar too.

Mesh basket, 12" handled hoe and bucket.

Leveler



Size of sand for reference

Thought I'd update this post(click the quote for old but still relevant pics) since some things have changed in 3 years.
-Have added another roost/board, pic below,
and had to add a piece of vinyl on wall to keep sand mix out of pop door tracks.
-Added corner moldings over edges of vinyl as they were creeping up,
breaking/cracking creating a foot injury risk,
and stuff was getting behind and under vinyl.
-Still using same type of sifter, but replaced with new one.
-Still using that hoe.
-Still using same 4 buckets to haul to buddies compost.
-Leveler screws are only 1/2" long now,
keeping sand/PDZ mix 1/4-1/2" deep to
deter dust bathing on the poop boards.
-That type of sand is no longer available,
so am using a play sand which is much finer and dustier
and more prone to 'muddying' with wetter poops.
One board is now pure PDZ,
jury's still out on which is more economical and functional.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

Thought I'd update this post since some things have changed in 3 years.
-Have added another roost/board, pic below,
and had to add a piece of vinyl on wall to keep sand mix out of pop door tracks.
-Added corner moldings over edges of vinyl as they were creeping up,
breaking/cracking creating a foot injury risk,
and stuff was getting behind and under vinyl.
-Still using same type of sifter, but replaced with new one.
-Still using that hoe.
-Still using same 4 buckets to haul to buddies compost.
-Leveler screws are only 1/2" long now,
keeping sand/PDZ mix 1/4-1/2" deep to
deter dust bathing on the poop boards.
-That type of sand is no longer available,
so am using a play sand which is much finer and dustier
and more prone to 'muddying' with wetter poops.
One board is now pure PDZ,
jury's still out on which is more economical and functional.

Have you made a decision on what is working best or are they equal?

I got the PDZ coop refresher because that was all that had at our Tractor Supply. In the bag it felt like powder, but it migt be granulated. Whatever - it is the consistency of very fine sand. So far I LOVE it! Since I hadn't bought or made a scoop yet I used my hands and those poops picked right out easily. Today I picked up a slotted spoon in the cooking section at WalMart and that works pretty good. I'll try a few things.

 

[aart]

Have you made a decision on what is working best or are they equal?

Well, I said "jury's still out on which is more economical and functional."
It's 6 of one and half dozen of the other.
Sand's way less expensive, PDZ is more effective.
But the mix is effective enough.

ETA: the granular PDZ is best, way less dusty.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

Not sure if the Coop Refresher PDZ is considered powder or granules, but did not notice dust when I filled the poop trays. Each of those 2 corner trays held a 25 lb bag each.

 

[Leigti]

I have a poop board in the coop now. It is basically just a flimsy board and now I need an upgrade. I don't have access to power tools. I need something that is about 48" x 48". Does anybody have any ideas on something I could use? I do have a Home Depot here in town.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

I have a poop board in the coop now. It is basically just a flimsy board and now I need an upgrade. I don't have access to power tools. I need something that is about 48" x 48". Does anybody have any ideas on something I could use? I do have a Home Depot here in town.

Home Depot usually has some precut lumber/sheets of plywood about that size. If you're planning to use PDZ or sand you will need some kind of border on it to keep the sand from spilling out - should be easy to add trim with hammer and small nails. Home Depot will usually cut them to length if you ask nicely.