Coop question and chicks coming tomorrow

[RRM]

We have maybe an 1-1/2” layer of sand in our coop, no poop boards. Use a kitty litter scoop to sift poop under the roost boards and stragglers around the coop floor every other day, takes maybe 10 minutes. Clean, dry, no smell, doubt we ever switch to anything other than sand.

 

[Sonya9]

Well thanks for everyone’s input. After going online and making tons of calls on online chicken coops, I decided to hire a handyman and turn my shed into a chicken coop. The chicks come tomorrow. Any advice on poop pans for under my roost? Any super cheap suggestions and super easy cleaning. Also how do you compost the poop? I will not be doing deep litter method but will clean all out and start over every couple weeks... does all the pine shavings go in compost pile? My 5 Brahma pullers come home tomorrow.

Very smart to convert a shed. If possible put in a second chicken door (so you can separate birds in the future, you will definitely use it!)

I just put a shelf under the roosts and scoop the poop up off the shelf into a bucket, when the bucket is full it goes into the garden (usually with some swet PDZ granules on the shelf). Benefit of using levels/shelves is that it maximizes the floor space. I penned off the area under the shelf and it serves as an indoor second hen house area roosters, chicks, injured birds or whomever else needs it (it has an chicken door leading to a separate outdoor pen).

As far as composting, I usually just dump the chicken poop right on my garden beds and let it slowly wash into the soil. It is a "hot" manure so you don't want to put fresh chicken poop near plant roots, but from my experience on top of the soil works fine, or mixed into the soil if you will plant the bed a few weeks later.

 

[Sonya9]

Oh and if you are looking for a good floor covering Black Jack 57 roof sealant is awesome! It is waterproof, slip proof, and lasts forever. You can just sweep the coop out without worrying about bugs/mites getting under the flooring. I assume your shed has a wood floor now so it would be the perfect way to seal it.

You may have to order it and have it delivered to a local store. If you order some BE SURE to have the store's paint department mix it for you on their paint mixing machines. The stuff is darn near impossible to mix by hand and it needs to be blended well. One gallon covers about 4x8 feet of floor.

 

[David61]

When I cleaned the in-town coop I just made layers with the dirty shavings, watering them in as I went. I didn't bother to try to acquire grass clippings or any such thing because the chicken manure was an adequate "green" to provide the composting action -- I didn't clean out the coop until there was enough manure in them to make this work.

I will say, however, that I do cold compost rather than the intensive management that a hot compost pile requires. One reason for this is that I never seem to have sufficient amounts of green and brown at the same time. You can't store the green stuff, after all.

The solution was to just toss the canning scraps, etc. into the chicken run. They ate what they liked and I covered any leftovers with more pine straw or old leaves.

I have to cut grass every week and weed/trim once a month. My green pile stays fresh as I am adding to run and poop pile. After a year now I'm looking to use all the third compost pile in the fall to amend the garden and flower beds.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have to cut grass every week and weed/trim once a month. My green pile stays fresh as I am adding to run and poop pile. After a year now I'm looking to use all the third compost pile in the fall to amend the garden and flower beds.

I don't rake.

If I had a lawn sweeper for my mower I might consider it. But I don't -- we just use a mulching mower.

 

[David61]

I don't rake.

If I had a lawn sweeper for my mower I might consider it. But I don't -- we just use a mulching mower.

I have a riding bagger. I only bag 1/3 of the back yard. its more than i need.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have a riding bagger. I only bag 1/3 of the back yard. its more than i need.

We're going to invest in a zero turn next year. I don't know if we'll spring for bagging capability or not. We've mostly used such things to pick up fall leaves rather than summer grass. The lawn sweeper was very useful for that before it broke but this property is more open without trees in mid-lawn.

 

[New2COchicks]

I use plywood covered with vinyl flooring. I covered a 4 foot by 5 foot poop board for less than $15. Close out prices are $.59 a foot.
I use granulated sweet PZD not sand. I rake it clean every fourth day. View attachment 2271401

Thanks

 

[New2COchicks]

Very smart to convert a shed. If possible put in a second chicken door (so you can separate birds in the future, you will definitely use it!)

I just put a shelf under the roosts and scoop the poop up off the shelf into a bucket, when the bucket is full it goes into the garden (usually with some swet PDZ granules on the shelf). Benefit of using levels/shelves is that it maximizes the floor space. I penned off the area under the shelf and it serves as an indoor second hen house area roosters, chicks, injured birds or whomever else needs it (it has an chicken door leading to a separate outdoor pen).

As far as composting, I usually just dump the chicken poop right on my garden beds and let it slowly wash into the soil. It is a "hot" manure so you don't want to put fresh chicken poop near plant roots, but from my experience on top of the soil works fine, or mixed into the soil if you will plant the bed a few weeks later.

When you say poop does that mean with the pine shavings too?

 

[Sonya9]

When you say poop does that mean with the pine shavings too?

Well most of the time it is ust a bucket of poop with a little pdz. If I clean the shavings of the floor I also use that as mulch for the veggie garden beds but wood shouldn't be mixed into the soil (it depletes nitrogen).

Many like to compost everything but in fact compost only contains 1% NPK because basically all the nutrients have been used up at that point.