From the scratch

[Chicken_Ninja]

Planning to raise chicken in this corner, so this community is just the perfect start.
Currently researching the coop design. We have , , , and in the area. Weather can get cold in the winter with subzero days and nights, particularly need a scheme for efficient poop cleaning and handling since it is close to the house

Any starting tips or suggestions are appreciated


(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Totally new

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Zero, planning to raise 20-30 chickens

(3) What breeds do you have?
No idea yet.

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Besides healthy and fresh eggs, it's somehow a contemplative activity.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Photography and outdoors. I enjoy gardening, sundrying fruits, and wood works.


(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
In the photography domain, have a dog (Bella) and couple of cats that hang around in the garden.

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?

Googled how to catch chicken poop and found the very resourceful discussions in the forums.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC.

Here are some helpful links:

• Great go-to resource - Articles
• Insightful feedback on how members manage their flocks - Topic of the Week back-catalogue

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Well ventilated, DRY coop with poop boards that are cleaned daily and dumped into a compost bin when full.
I recommend a walk-in style coop.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Great suggestions from @DobieLover Also, 5 square feet per bird in the coop. 1/2 to 1 square foot of vent space in the eaves. Never close them all off no matter how cold it gets. Chickens produce a ton of moisture and it needs to vent off to prevent frost bite and respiratory ailments.
Good luck with this new adventure and welcome to our community!

 

[ValerieJ]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! You're going to love this place!

Space and easy cleaning methods are how you eliminate odor. Definitely the 5 sf per bird floor space that @TwoCrows mentioned and she means 1/2 - 1 sf ventilation per bird. Here's an article on it. The other thing is to put in poop boards, like @DobieLover mentioned. Here's an article on setting up the inside of a coop with poop boards. Using PDZ on the poop boards and cleaning/scooping them every day will help a lot.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens wonderful community here

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi and welcome to BYC!!

 

[BloomBunny]

You found us by searching "chicken poop"?! You are soooo in the right place!
Welcome to BYC!!

 

[Chicken_Ninja]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! You're going to love this place!

Space and easy cleaning methods are how you eliminate odor. Definitely the 5 sf per bird floor space that @TwoCrows mentioned and she means 1/2 - 1 sf ventilation per bird. Here's an article on it. The other thing is to put in poop boards, like @DobieLover mentioned. Here's an article on setting up the inside of a coop with poop boards. Using PDZ on the poop boards and cleaning/scooping them every day will help a lot.

Thanks Valerie and everyone, amazing community here! I will check the articles you suggested

My idea so far is having the whole coop floor as a metal mesh under which the poop boards are placed. I would have access to the trays from the outside: withdraw them, scoop the poop with a putty knife into compost and slide them back.

What I have to know at this stage whether it is ok for the floor to be a metal mesh, or it has to be solid to accept bedding like sawdust or something else.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thanks Valerie and everyone, amazing community here! I will check the articles you suggested

My idea so far is having the whole coop floor as a metal mesh under which the poop boards are placed. I would have access to the trays from the outside: withdraw them, scoop the poop with a putty knife into compost and slide them back.

What I have to know at this stage whether it is ok for the floor to be a metal mesh, or it has to be solid to accept bedding like sawdust or something else.

I don't think that would work nearly as well as you think. The mesh will catch the poop and you'll have a real scraping mess on your hands. I hope you looked up the poop boards that use sand and pdz. Much easier. You definitely want a walk in coop. You will thank me for that advice one day, or say "why didn't I listen" when you're trying to climb into a chicken hutch for cleaning!