The girls have spent the first night in their new home, and already, I'm seeing some problems with my design, which will require some "tweaking". The first problem is the nest boxes. I made a 2 tier frame to hold 2 dish pans on each tier, with a divider of OSB between the dish pans. (haven't put the dish pans in the lower level yet, just threw some hay in there.) But, the dish pans are slippery, and when the girls dig around in them, they dislodge all of the hay and shavings, leaving a bare bottom on the dish pan. Doesn't help that, at the moment, Jack is the most enthusiastic nester. With his bigger size, he's got hay and shavings flying all over the place. So, I think these are my options: line the bottom with some astro-turf or carpet squares. Or, put a piece of OSB or other wood product in the bottom. Or, ditch the dish pans and build up the front of the box with wood to keep the stuff inside. Any one using dish pans, and are you experiencing the same problem? If you use a liner, do you have issues with the chickens getting their toe nails caught in it, or the material fraying which might be a hazard if they decide to eat it?
Any one use a poop sling? I'm thinking of rigging something up to go under one side of the perches to catch the poop, and direct it into a bucket or just into the litter. That way, I can put their dust bath under the perches on that side to free up more space in the rest of the coop. I want to put up a swing for their entertainment, and with feed and water placement, that doesn't look like it will happen.
Any one use a poop sling? I'm thinking of rigging something up to go under one side of the perches to catch the poop, and direct it into a bucket or just into the litter. That way, I can put their dust bath under the perches on that side to free up more space in the rest of the coop. I want to put up a swing for their entertainment, and with feed and water placement, that doesn't look like it will happen.
