Poop board convert *warning-graphic/gross poop pictures*

[Missa Chickabee]

I heard that putting apple cider vinegar in their water helps with parasite issues. About a tablespoon per gallon. Try that and see if helps prevent further breakouts. Also, the food grade DE is supposed to help prevent mites & lice when mixed in with pine shavings and PDZ. I dust it around the entire coop & run, inside and out. I know that stuff falls through the shavings but I try to keep it mixed up with my rake.

I only have three chicks so I don't have the work you do. I hope things get better soon.

Just curious, are you doing deep litter method? I am but I don't how well it will work. Guess we'll see...

Hi DL,

Yeah, I've been giving them ACV for a couple of months now, at the dose you mentioned but I bumped it up a bit until we're past this/.

We have a concrete floor so I have just put the pine shavings and DE and PDZ , mostly shavings, about 6 inches thick right now. ( just put fresh because of the clean-out for the lice. I spot-clean the floor (go in there two or three times in the course of a day. Easy to spot the poop with "Cowboy" brand shavings because there aren't the darker bits in it. I like to keep the poop level really really low in both coop and run. Had such a bad time of it with coccidiosis. Can't stop them from pecking at poo but I can minimize its presence.

The shavings on the floor coat up the poo pretty well. Not much work. (80 to 90 of the droppings are on the poop tray under the roost (with the granular PDZ and DE mixed.) The litter is deep, but it's not the composting kind. For that I think you need a dirt floor.

This is fun,no?

Missa

 

[Donna Lynn]

Sent you a private message!

DL

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

Hi everyone- so glad to see this thread still going strong!

Just wanted to say what a great job everyone has done and LOVE all the pics. Some really great creative ideas and coops out there

Trish

 

[Donna Lynn]

Trish,

I am loving that PDZ! It makes cleaning up the poop board so easy! I only have three girls but good grief can they ever poo! LOL I hardly have any smell at all using it. That is great stuff!

 

[Missa Chickabee]

The poop board/box has provided a darker place for the nest boxes, Economy of space, too. So grateful for all the great ideas coming out of this thread. Thanks, Trish for starting what has been my favorite and most practical thread.

My coop has become a breeze to clean and smells so much nicer. Makes it pleasant to be in there cleaning up. The birds adapt quickly to new changes . They are so funny.

 

[Sandyd]

This is a wonderful idea. Reading through everything, I have been contemplating how to make my new coop easier to maintain and this is the answer. Told my DH that he was going to make some poop boards under the roost when we start building them. Still a long way to go with insulating and putting a inside wall up.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

Welcome, Sandyd!

Glad you're here! I learn so much at BYC.

Enjoy!

 

[Patsy2757]

I informed my husband we were putting this type of "poop board" in our new coop and he didn't get the idea but he followed my directions and it turned out awesome! Hardly any poop anywhere else! Cleans up like a dream and I enjoy scooping poop if that's possible! LOL. PDZ is wonderful! I had company over and they went into the coop and exclaimed " This is the cleanest best smelling coop I've ever seen!" Made my day! Thanks so much for sharing this!

 

[Missa Chickabee]

I informed my husband we were putting this type of "poop board" in our new coop and he didn't get the idea but he followed my directions and it turned out awesome! Hardly any poop anywhere else! Cleans up like a dream and I enjoy scooping poop if that's possible! LOL. PDZ is wonderful! I had company over and they went into the coop and exclaimed " This is the cleanest best smelling coop I've ever seen!" Made my day! Thanks so much for sharing this!

All the thanks should go to Trish and all the neat folks who posted pics and bragged on PDZ. Revolutionized my mornings with the chickens! "I keep poop outta my coop"
It can compost somewhere where I don't need to smell it. Not in my coop. That ammonia is bad for the lungs of any living thing. In the natural they would not be bedding down near their poop. They'd be up on a tree branch smelling the fresh breezes. I visit my coop three or four times during the course of a day when I'm at home and just do a "spot clean" Just takes a minute. The roo looks at me like: "What the heck is she doing?"

So it's for the chickens and it's for me. The nicer the atmosphere out there, the more I like to be in the coop just tweaking this or that. That gets the flock used to my presence. They are becoming more and more friendly and the roo tolerates me more. He can't figure me out. I think he thinks: "I think you're my mama, but I kind of think you're a rooster, too. Hey I'm confused. So I think I'll just fluff up my feathers and crow a little."

 

[Donna Lynn]

Welcome, we are so glad to have you! Missa Chickabee is correct, you will learn so much from BYC. Congrats on building your coop and post photos when you can!

DL