Easy Poop Clean Up and inside coop Design Ideas NEEDED!!!!!

[Tovah]

Help, help.... We are in the middle of coop construction (4x5x6) and I had originally planned an egg door about waist height and a cleanout door on the bottom. Well, DH has a bad back, so bending over and crawling in to clean out the coop is not the best plan. If we build a full door, where should I place the nesting boxes and where is the best location for Roosts? Do I need a metal cloth floor under the roosts or can they be completely open. Is it dangerous to have the chickens roosting too high? Has anyone built a moveable shelf to be able to clean better?

If anyone has some good inside shots of their coop or good ideas, please post! Here's a few shots of our coop and run. Where the wine box and plywood are I would like to have a door to the right to be able to walk in. Nests to the left and roosts on the right I think.

I only want to build this thing once, if you all know what I mean.....

 

[spotstealer]

My coop is simlar in size to yours. I made the clean out door all the way to the floor. I also covered it with linoluem. I spread shavings out, making them a bit thicker under the roost. I have a long handled dust pan that I can reach all the way in and them just pull all the waste into a wheel barrow. It has been working great!

 

[CarolynF]

Yours looks similar to mine, just a tad bigger. I have just 1 nest box and it's a stand-alone box that I set on the floor. The coop is 3' off the ground, very easy to reach into for cleaning. The perch rests on 2 wooden blocks that are secured to the corner posts so I can easily slip it out if needed. The floor is plywood painted well with 3 coats of exterior paint, and I use 2-3 inches of sand rather than straw or shavings so I can very quickly and easily clean out the poop with a kitty litter scoop (long handled). My BYC page shows the coop without the nest box or sand. It's working great for me. I really don't want to go under the coop without a good reason, it fits the chickens a lot better than me!

 

[Braxton]

nice pics....

 

[fireguy56]

Hi, as far as poop clean up I did my research on BYC and came up with what I think works just fine and is super easy. Check out my page and look at my tray system. It works for us. good luck. Erik

 

[Tovah]

Quote:
CarolynF, Your coop looks great!

Yes, it is very similar to mine. so I have more questions for you. I was thinking to leave some of the upper floor open or with hardware cloth to allow some of the poop to fall below in the run. THen I can leave it there longer like a compost pile.

I noticed you laid down larger gauge wire on the ground. We did the same, but with 1/2" hardwire cloth. I started to "sew" it together with the wire panels on the walls, but this was tedious. I am thinking I might just make the next wall panel longer to overlap the floor cloth and hammer in garden staples to keep it secure. What do you think?

 

[Tovah]

Quote:
Fireguy56, your coop is amazing!

I can see why it is called a palace with the siding, windows, and all the details. It is a small house. I like that you have a full door and can fully walk into it. Easy clean up for sure. The poop trays are a great idea. I had heard of using a car oil drip pan for the bottom which I may do. I also like that your perch is on an angle. Is that a typical installation for perches?

 

[CourtneyC]

Quote:
All I can say is WOW! That coop is awesome!

 

[fishin-nole]

I use a plastic mixing pan under the roost. TSC has them as horse feeding pans or most hardare stores carry them as cement mixing pans.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
You'd need 1/2" hardware cloth to be predator proof and I'm afraid most poop isn't going to fall through that. Some sort of tray or scrap of vinyl, something that pulls out easily, might work better for you.