Got a new shovel - wide with a flat bottom. Went to clean out the coop today and the poop was frozen! Quite a number of frozen piles of poop. Rather than chip away at it with an ice pick, I will wait until it warms up.
I hate dealing with frozen poop, too. I'm well aware my chickens are just fine in sub-freezing temps, but I like to clean off the poop boards each morning, and it's more work when it's frozen to the boards. So I solved the problem by using oil filled electric heaters in each of my two coops to keep it just above freezing. I can also store the waterers inside as well as cleaning supplies, knowing they won't freeze. It makes cleaning on a fifteen degree morning, while not a walk in the park, an easier chore than trying to hack away at frozen poop.
The half inch of sand mixed with PDZ on my vinyl lined roost boards facilitates removing frozen poops pretty well, most of them don't stick too much. I use a cut down garden hoe to scrape...and hammer where necessary, just gotta watch the sharp corners of hoe when hammering. Coop floor has vinyl under 3-4" of pine shavings...nothin much sticks there either. Am really glad I set it up like that.
Good news. It was 6° celcius today so I managed scoop the poop! It did not take long to thaw enough to shovel.
As long as it is frozen, it is just an eye sore, but if the piles get deep and it thaws, it can really let off the ammonia. I am waiting for a thaw now!
Was abut 18F(-9C) here yesterday, poops popped right off the roost board, then rattles into the bucket. Poopcicles.
