Droppings Board

[HopeSprings]

It depends on what your calling laminate. A picture would help.
My board itself is 1/4" underlayment, but it is covered with vinyl. The underlayment is nailed down to a 2 x 4 frame, then I covered it with vinyl. I used 1 x 2's to hold the vinyl down. I nailed 1 x 4's to the outside of the frame(raised up) to make a tray.

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This is the underside of the poop board. The frame sits on 2 x 4's along the back wall and 2 x 4's on the sides
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You can see how the 1 x 4 is raised up when I attached it to the 2 x 4 to make the tray. I could have used a 1 x 6 and made it even with the bottom of the 2 x 4, but didn't.
I lift the roost bar up when I scoop the poop, that's why it's on an angle.
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I have 2 bins about 6' x 6' made out of pallets, to keep the dogs out of it. I don't have any pictures. All the poop goes in there. I add leaves(I always have leaves), kitchen and garden scraps not suitable for the chickens, coffee grounds, tea bags, some of the egg shells and some of the coop bedding when I clean it out. Most of the bedding goes in my deep litter run, which is basically composting also.

Mine look just like this! I used the same vinyl flooring on top of the plywood that I used over the floor and up the walls. I use sand and PDZ on the boards and sift out the poop with a litter box scoop.
I'm afraid my compost pile is not very well organized -- it's just a big pile of whatever comes out of the garden, coop and kitchen!

 

[chickenthyme]

The women you know is probably using PDZ, it's a horse stall refresher that helps control ammonia odors. I use 1/2" or less of PDZ on my board. I have a frame around the whole thing to hold the PDZ in. I use a cat litter scoop to scoop the poop every day. The poop goes in my compost bin.

Using a laminated board only is probably slippery. My flock is always walking on the board to get settled in for the night. Some of them sleep on the board, the roost and the front board. Also without something on the board, the real wet ones may be hard to get off, unless you want to wipe it up . Also with a 12 inch wide board, some of the poop may end up on the floor. Mine is 24" wide with the roost in the middle. The ones on the front board always face front.

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Thanks for the picture too!! Great help!!

 

[blackdog043]

I can't help you with the door, my coop and run are open 24/7. My run is covered with tuftex panels and is all 1/2 inch hardware cloth, with an apron all the way around my whole set up.

If you can't figure out the door, you should start a new thread with the kind of door you have and what issues your having. There is usually someone that should be able to help you.

 

[chickenthyme]

I can't help you with the door, my coop and run are open 24/7. My run is covered with tuftex panels and is all 1/2 inch hardware cloth, with an apron all the way around my whole set up.

If you can't figure out the door, you should start a new thread with the kind of door you have and what issues your having. There is usually someone that should be able to help you.

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What a nice looking coop and run and a beautiful flock of girls! Just this summer, we finally attached the run to the coop. It's an Omlet run and I like it although going through different times of the year, I don't know whether it was the best choice. Bought a tent-like roof from Tractor Supply that was made for their cages/runs so had to tweak it to fit on top of ours but if it rains or snows, it tends to collect at the edge so that's not the greatest plus an additional expense. Have to agree with people who said raising chickens is not inexpensive. Just an enjoyable hobby with eggs!!

 

[aart]

I'm thinking the laminate is not going to work. Where one dropping was it pucker the laminate

Depends on if it's really a good plastic laminate or more like contact paper.
Post some pics?

 

[Mimi13]

I love this pic of momma hen roosting with big babies!!! Nice setup!

Me too. There is something so satisfying looking at the picture. Pure bliss. I’m not certain my pics would look like pure bliss.

 

[chickenthyme]

I only have one roost bar because really there's enough room for the 7 of them on the one roost and also a bit difficult to add another one. Actually the boards are laid on top of a frame my husband made. Just seems like just naturally they are going to jump onto board first and then onto roost.
What is PDZ? I know one woman that uses some kind of sand type stuff that they use for horses (maybe) for odor control?
I may be in a panic tonight since it's all new for me too. Just not wanting to set up something that will cause an accident. The board is probably waist high for me with the roost about 7 or 8 inches higher than that.

 

[chickenthyme]

No, I don't notice any odors from the pile on a normal basis. If I haven't mixed it in a few weeks, I may get some odor, but it dissipates quickly and you have to be close to the pile to smell it. I add some leaves every couple weeks, to try to keep everything balanced. I add paper towels, as long as there is no grease on them. I also add the cardboard tubes from them. I don't think it draws varmints, it never looks like anything is digging in the pile. My game cameras don't point toward them. I took a couple pictures of my compost bins this morning.

I use pine shavings for my bedding. I start out with it about 3 - 4 inches deep and add to it when it needs refreshing. I end up with about 6 - 8 inches when I clean the coop out, which is once a year or longer. I do sprinkle some PDZ in the bedding after I clean it out and start fresh.

I started this one about a month ago. I get black soldier fly larva in my piles, they love chicken poop. The poop I add in the morning is usually down to what you see here the next morning. I have 24 in my flock.
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This pile is about done, it smells like rich soil. The bins not full, I just have it all in the back half. I'll sift it to get anything big/ not fully composted and add it to my garden in the fall.
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Thanks for posting your pictures!! It's a great help! I still don't know where I might put a compost bin. I'll have to keep thinking about it. Now we're having trouble with our automatic door. Went to leave the girls out this morning and some how the door was already open and tonight it closed before 6 of the 7 got in. Been a bit disappointed with this unit. We have to take the nesting boxes off the wall to even get in to look at it.