This is our first time raising chickens. We have had our coop and girls since June and, after reading here and a couple of blogs, I decided to go with sand for the coop. Initially I bought a kitty litter scoop to clean up the poop but that was a real pain. I then found a long handled kitty liter scoop but with the size of the scoop and an 8x8 coop to clean out, it was still a huge pain. My next idea was to make a wooden frame and staple 1/4" wire mesh to it. I would then scoop dirty sand and sift it through this screen, tossing the poop into a container. This was ok but still cumbersome to a degree since I would need to stop and empty the sifter regularily. I finally decided to try something else and it works WONDERFULLY!
I went to Lowes and bought a regular square shovel and some 3/4" wide by 1/8" thick steel stock.I marked out 1" around the edge of the shovel and used a cut off wheel in my angle grinder to cut out the center of the shovel. I then cut pieces of the steel stock to make a frame. I drilled and tapped this steel stock and drilled coresponding holes the the remaining part of the shovel. Lastly I cut some 1/4" wire mesh to fit and used screws through the mesh, shovel, and metal pieces, basically sandwiching the wire mesh between the shovel and steel frame.
To use, I place a large tub just outside the door of the coop. I scoop up a "shovel" full and the sand falls right through the wire mesh, leaving behind the poop. I then simply toss the poop in to the tub and keep going. I can clean the entire floor of the coop in just a few minutes without really bending over! Here are some pics of what I did in case anyone wants to consider making one of there own.
I went to Lowes and bought a regular square shovel and some 3/4" wide by 1/8" thick steel stock.I marked out 1" around the edge of the shovel and used a cut off wheel in my angle grinder to cut out the center of the shovel. I then cut pieces of the steel stock to make a frame. I drilled and tapped this steel stock and drilled coresponding holes the the remaining part of the shovel. Lastly I cut some 1/4" wire mesh to fit and used screws through the mesh, shovel, and metal pieces, basically sandwiching the wire mesh between the shovel and steel frame.
To use, I place a large tub just outside the door of the coop. I scoop up a "shovel" full and the sand falls right through the wire mesh, leaving behind the poop. I then simply toss the poop in to the tub and keep going. I can clean the entire floor of the coop in just a few minutes without really bending over! Here are some pics of what I did in case anyone wants to consider making one of there own.
Last edited:
