My poop pit experience...so far.

[Ole rooster]

The reason I asked is my top roost is 12 inches from the wall. Still the ones that roost up there poop within 1 inch of the wall. To my way of thinking to make the 2 foot area work with 12 inches on either side it would use one roost down the center for the poop to drop within the confines of the lower opening. Maybe there's just something I'm not seeing. But what the heck, if it works it works.

 

[ninabeast]

Oh, you're seeing just fine. Because the pit was not built to the dimensions I asked for (sorry, honey), there is some poop that falls to the outside of the pit. This gets scooped in the morning. It's a minor irritation. The poop chute has gone a long way to fixing this, because there's a lot more poop getting in and a lot less to be scooped. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I've made it work pretty well. The downside to making it big enough to catch all the night poop is decreased floor space...

 

[verlaj]

Don't some of them roost on the edge of the pit anyway? Maybe not, if you have plenty of space for your birds on the upper level. But if they did roost on the edge, depending on which way they roost, they could be pooping on the outside. Also, the upper level birds might be pooping on the lower level birds.

I think this is a great idea anyway. Composting in place - chickens provide the green stuff!

 

[ninabeast]

Quote:
They all sleep up top, although they will hang out on the edges during the day. Again, the poop that falls outside of the pit takes only a few minutes to clean each day.

 

[SunnyChic]

Wow...what a great idea!

Thanks for sharing; I'm renovating my hoop coop roost, and I'm going to install a poop pit! Thanks for the pics, too (I'm a visual learner!

).

 

[ninabeast]

Just learn from our...experience! Construct the pit with the poopable space in mind, not the exterior dimensions. And a poop chute of some kind from the wall into the pit (maybe galvanized steel or a plastic tarp?) will greatly enhance your poop pit experience. It really has been great.

 

[tsmith1499]

Really, your not losing any floorspace because unless your poop board is elevated the chickens probably don't use the area under the roosts anyway. Just a thought. I will be adding one of these brfore I finish my coop in a few weeks. Timing is everything!! Thanks!!

 

[ninabeast]

Glad to be of help. Here's a construction shot, in case it's useful.

 

[dashonna82]

I know this is an old post, I'm wondering what type of paint you used on the roost. Thanks