Poo Boards

[Carolrich]

Hello! I have had my chickens and coop for nearly 3 years and used various methods for cleaning up their droppings such as picking it up by hand daily, deep littler, a large wooden board under the roost. . . We make compost from the droppings by adding it to our bin with "brown" matter. I looked at other peoples' poop boards and came up with something I think will work for us. I purchased dog kennel trays that are lightweight. We built a tray holder with old wood. We placed the 2 roosts above the trays with enough space around them so (hopefully) they won't poo on each other. Here is a picture with a tray missing so you can see the simple 2 board tray holder underneath.
FYI, the windows are reinforced with wire cloth so critters can't barge in.

 

[TelfTheElf]

Nice one!!
I have cut plywood boards to fit under my perch and i have reduced my house cleaning a lot.

 

[aart]

Man, those tray look huge...what are the dimensions?

Is there a third tray that fits on the left?
Cause that's where they'll roost.
Let us know how it works out.

 

[Carolrich]

Man, those tray look huge...what are the dimensions?

Is there a third tray that fits on the left?
Cause that's where they'll roost.
Let us know how it works out.

They are 36 x 18, roughly the size if a large dog kennel. Yes there is the 3rd tray in the left space. I just left it out for the picture. First night was last night and they worked great however I had to wait until they had jumped onto their roots before sliding them into place. Does it look like overkill to you?

 

[aart]

First night was last night and they worked great however I had to wait until they had jumped onto their roots before sliding them into place. Does it look like overkill to you?

I'd leave them in place, they'll figure out how to get up to roosts, maybe that's your plan?
Do you plan on cleaning them everyday?
They are large and may be unwieldy to handle.
Not sure if it's over kill or not....if it works for you, it works....time will tell.
How many birds do you have?

 

[muddy75]

I have a tray like that in my coop under the roosts (smaller size for smaller coop) of course turkey takes whole tray as bed right now and chickens roost in top nest boxes. But I fill mine with a bit of coop deodorizer and shavings. I pick out poop and turn litter several times through the week and change to fresh as needed.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Hey if it works for you great!
Nice coop, love the windows.

 

[Carolrich]

I'd leave them in place, they'll figure out how to get up to roosts, maybe that's your plan?
Do you plan on cleaning them everyday?
They are large and may be unwieldy to handle.
Not sure if it's over kill or not....if it works for you, it works....time will tell.
How many birds do you have?

I will scrape the poop into a composting bin every day. I use a spatula made for drywall paste. I have 9 chickens and this includes my one-eyed rooster, Stanley. The first night they were all quite confused but eventually sorted themselves out. The trays are lightweight and made of some kind of firm plastic. I have severe spine issues and I can handle these easily. It is not a problem for me to slide them into place each night as I am retired and close them up every evening at dusk. During the day, they rarely go into the coop except to the nesting boxes to lay eggs. They have a large secure run and a large fenced chicken yard with dirt baths, many roosting places, hiding places to get out of the weather and lots of bugs on the woodland ground. They are very spoiled but we have fantastic omelets every day. I am going to pickle some of the eggs tomorrow. (Have never done this before).
I have gone I, a bit here haven't I? Fyi, you have been so helpful to me in the past. Thanks!