My chicks are poop machines!

[girlychick]

Ew I know what you mean!
When there still only a few weeks old, they poop and poop and poop! It was so disgusting to clean up there chick pen when there was shavings, now we have this pen that had a little under thing that you put news paper in then to clean it just take out the tray roll up the news paper and through it away. It's way easier and less gross( I couldn't think of another word to use xD) Anways good luck with the chicks...and there poo. Our big hens don't poop as much anymore but still alot. We clean the chicks every 3 day to a week, depending on the smell. And the big hens about once every two weeks, or when it smells really badly.

 

[azygous]

Want to know what real poop machines are? Try raising Brahmas! When my three Light Brahmas approached full size, I was amazed to see they were pooping piles as big as a small dog deposits!

That said, I refuse to accept that a chicken coop and pen has to smell. It will if you decide to do the deep litter method and clean once a year. I experimented with various beddings, going from straw, to wood chips to sand and wood shavings. But I keep the poop picked up daily.

In the coop, on top of the wood shavings, I put poop planks and take them out first thing every morning and hose them off. I pick up any stray poop inside the coop.

In the pen, I have sand. It's great! I clean with a cat box scooper several times a day and toss the poop onto my compost pile. Neither the coop or the pen smells. I think this is the reason I have no flies, and my chickens are very healthy.

I've had six chicks in a brooder in the house for the past five weeks, and I'm using wood shavings for the bedding. Again, I keep the poop picked up, adding more shavings as needed. No odor problem at all. By the way, I used paper towels for the first few days, until I discovered the chicks were actually eating it!

Of course, it's a lot more work to keep the poop picked up, and this method wouldn't be practical if you're a working person and are gone all day. But this sure works well for me! And I have a glorious compost pile!

 

[Tigerjane]

Quote:
I completely plan on using construction sand and scooping everyday. I don't even let my dog's poo stay in the backyard, it gets picked up as soon as she goes. I already bought two large kitty litter scoops (and have a 3rd in the garage) that I plan on attaching to something like a broom handle to scoop their coop and run everyday. Lots of people have recommended the linoleum in the coop and on the poop board. We're getting a scrapper, a taping tool, to scrape the poo board off, and a high pressure nozzle for the hose. I handle lots of cat and dog poo in my job as a petsitter, so I'm not squeamish with it, but I do like things to be clean and smell-free. And again, I just had no idea the amount of poo that chickens produced! It Doesn't even make sense with their body size!

 

[fldiver97]

Look at them as perfect Compost Manufacturers......... I am so glad that mine are in the coop and not brooder. And after discovering Sweet PDZ/Stall Dri and using poop boards I am doing OK. Don't have bad fly/smell problems and don't have to follow them around with a pooper scooper

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I am a daily poop scooper myself. Personally, I'd rather spend a few minutes a day on this job than have to face an annual or semi-annual cleaning out of months of accumulated litter mixed with droppings.

 

[Tigerjane]

Quote:
I am a daily poop scooper myself. Personally, I'd rather spend a few minutes a day on this job than have to face an annual or semi-annual cleaning out of months of accumulated litter mixed with droppings.

Elmo, how often are you giving the coop a scrubbing? I've heard to do this twice a year, but is it really better to do it more often? I was thinking every three months?

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Pooping and eating machines...I use the deep litter too with poop boards under the roost...hubby just put up another roost and I need to get a poop board there tomorrow. I scrape the boards daily and take the bleach bucket and scrubbing brush to the roosts and boards weekly...cause not all the poop comes in semi solid scrapeable form.
And...when the little poopers grow up they poop less often... but oh so much more.

Do any of you who daily pooper scooper have a trick how pick the poop out of the shavings ?
I have tried a couple different rakes but it just seems to settle to the bottom, which is okay because it dries out but I would rather get it out.
When we were building our new coop I saw a photo on the coop design that looked like a living room....
Sigh....sadly I have not been able to live that dream.

Also...while we are on the poop and clean up topic....does anyone have a tip for picking up feathers?

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
In another thread on here someone posted a link to a site that had a whole bunch of pictures of what different types of chicken poop look like, so you could see if your chicken's poop is normal or not. I was shocked, SHOCKED, at the size! It's like dog poop! Having never been the caretaker for chickens, I just had no idea. I assumed it would be like wild bird poo but slightly larger . . . . WRONG. Doesn't dissuade me from getting more though, I'm just better informed about what the future holds

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[Cynthia12]

Quote:
In another thread on here someone posted a link to a site that had a whole bunch of pictures of what different types of chicken poop look like, so you could see if your chicken's poop is normal or not. I was shocked, SHOCKED, at the size! It's like dog poop! Having never been the caretaker for chickens, I just had no idea. I assumed it would be like wild bird poo but slightly larger . . . . WRONG. Doesn't dissuade me from getting more though, I'm just better informed about what the future holds

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

Wonderful pictures...not! I've seen plenty of what is there..thank goodness none of the problem poo. So, I guess my chickens have healthy poo.

I also went to sand inside the coop, easier cleaning for me.

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

deep litter method is the best I've found by far, I start out with 4 inches of sawdust, pine shavings don't absorb anywhere near as well.
I use a garden hoe under the roost and skim off the worst of it and replace this with fresh sawdust..... no poopy boards!
You simply hoe it into a large scoop shovel and into the wheel barrow then to the compost pile.
you can also run a rake over the rest of the coop real fast to just touch up.
then replace the sawdust that you removed with fresh

Sawdust is free if you know where to look.
Done use dust from treated lumber, and check it for any metal, like nails, if it comes from a sawmill.

Places to ask for dust....
sawmills, cabinet shops, door shops, companies that do log home kits..... etc.
usually you can fill your pickup for free.
tip... use a pitchfork, a shovel will work you to death.

I do a complete change out once a year, unless something happens to warrant it more often, by then it is about 6 inches deep
You do a light cleaning every week and add dust as needed.

Chickens produce poop, eggs are just a byproduct. ;O)

If you keep a coop completely spotless, your birds are going to be fragile.
they need the micro-organisms to build in the coop so they can build their immunities to diseases
Having said that though, you also need to keep an eye out for such things as mites, and spray or dust accordingly if they become a problem.