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

[RJSorensen]

I have watched this thread off and on for the past little while, and have decided to give a Poop Board a try in my new coop. I am getting close to being done, and the roost will be perhaps the last item to be built. I was going to try to set my roost 15 to 16 inches from the back wall, so I suppose that would give me a poop board of 30 to 32 inches wide under it. I need to fill the poop board with PDZ to a depth of about 2 inches?

I will add side pieces to the plywood to hold the PDZ in place of course. Does this sound like a plan that can/will work for me? It would be nice to get it right on the first try… but we all know how that goes.

Thanks to the OP and others whom have added to this nice thread,

RJ

 

[aart]

Doesn't need to be 2" deep IMO...mine's only about 1/2" deep and works fine...you can also use clean coarse sand mixed in to reduce the amount of PDZ used.

 

[madicakes]

I have been using this in my new coop, and I am amazed by the lack of odor in my coop! I don't have anything to compare it to as this is my first time with chickens, but it's great! I wanted to say a big THANK YOU, as I would have never thought of this on my own.

 

[crazyhen]

I have watched this thread off and on for the past little while, and have decided to give a Poop Board a try in my new coop. I am getting close to being done, and the roost will be perhaps the last item to be built. I was going to try to set my roost 15 to 16 inches from the back wall, so I suppose that would give me a poop board of 30 to 32 inches wide under it. I need to fill the poop board with PDZ to a depth of about 2 inches?

I will add side pieces to the plywood to hold the PDZ in place of course. Does this sound like a plan that can/will work for me? It would be nice to get it right on the first try… but we all know how that goes.

Thanks to the OP and others whom have added to this nice thread,

RJ

The poop board is great , but don't get it to high for your big hens. I did so, I put in a walkway but they still fly off sometimes and hit mighty hard on the flooring covered in woodchips. I stay afraid they will break a leg as they age.

 

[Tropical Chick]

I built a new coop and incorporated a poop board in it. Mine was 24 inches wide by 48 inches long for my 4 hens. I put a 1x4 white PVC board vertical along the side of the plywood and covered the plywood bottom with plastic core board (looks like corrugate cardboard but plastic found at Home Depot). I caulked all of this so the PDZ would not sift out. I put a 2x3 board laying flat for the hens to roost on about 8 inches above the bottom down the length in the middle. I keep about 2-3 inches of sweet PDZ granules (I hated the flour-like consistency kind of PDZ). I would have made it 30 inches wide because they occasionally poop down over the top of the sides of the 1x4 side wall. Mt coop does not smell, easy to clean, goes in the garden for compost, could not ask for anything better to make my hens happy!

 

[iwiw60]

I built a new coop and incorporated a poop board in it. Mine was 24 inches wide by 48 inches long for my 4 hens. I put a 1x4 white PVC board vertical along the side of the plywood and covered the plywood bottom with plastic core board (looks like corrugate cardboard but plastic found at Home Depot). I caulked all of this so the PDZ would not sift out. I put a 2x3 board laying flat for the hens to roost on about 8 inches above the bottom down the length in the middle. I keep about 2-3 inches of sweet PDZ granules (I hated the flour-like consistency kind of PDZ). I would have made it 30 inches wide because they occasionally poop down over the top of the sides of the 1x4 side wall. Mt coop does not smell, easy to clean, goes in the garden for compost, could not ask for anything better to make my hens happy!

YAY for PDZ!! It is the best for sure!

Would love to see a pic of your setup!

 

[Sydney Acres]

I am amazed by this stuff. My husband has an older flock of chickens that has roosts in the house and shavings on the floor. He is responsible for taking care of his birds, and I take care of mine. Last night he told me that he'd been too busy this week to do anything in the pen, and asked if I would I clean it out for him today. Well, I checked it last night right before the birds went in and it stunk pretty bad. There were thick lines of piled poop directly under the perches (more than a week's worth), but it was too late to do a change out right then. So I called my husband over, had him get a good whiff, then sprinkled a layer of PDZ on top of the poop. He snickered a bit, asked me why I was doing this, then took another whiff. Even he noticed that there was almost an instant change. The PDZ seemed to capture the ammonia in the air. I'll change out the house today and sprinkle some PDZ on top of the new shavings, and he's agreed to pick up the line of poop under the perches at least every other day, followed by a light sprinkle of PDZ on the remaining shavings. Unfortunately, the coop isn't set up in a way that would accommodate poop trays, but this will keep the ammonia under control. Old, arthritic chickens shouldn't have to smell ammonia in their retirement years, even if there is adequate ventilation to keep them from getting sick from it.

 

[aart]

I am amazed by this stuff. My husband has an older flock of chickens that has roosts in the house and shavings on the floor. He is responsible for taking care of his birds, and I take care of mine. Last night he told me that he'd been too busy this week to do anything in the pen, and asked if I would I clean it out for him today. Well, I checked it last night right before the birds went in and it stunk pretty bad. There were thick lines of piled poop directly under the perches (more than a week's worth), but it was too late to do a change out right then. So I called my husband over, had him get a good whiff, then sprinkled a layer of PDZ on top of the poop. He snickered a bit, asked me why I was doing this, then took another whiff. Even he noticed that there was almost an instant change. The PDZ seemed to capture the ammonia in the air. I'll change out the house today and sprinkle some PDZ on top of the new shavings, and he's agreed to pick up the line of poop under the perches at least every other day, followed by a light sprinkle of PDZ on the remaining shavings. Unfortunately, the coop isn't set up in a way that would accommodate poop trays, but this will keep the ammonia under control. Old, arthritic chickens shouldn't have to smell ammonia in their retirement years, even if there is adequate ventilation to keep them from getting sick from it.

That's exactly what it does!!

 

[Tropical Chick]

Here is my hen, Thyme, sitting on the roost. She came to see what I was doing!!! We live in Florida and it is really hot so I used shutter doors (screened the inside for mosquitoes) for extra ventilation and the clear UV coated roof so it also vents and have a fan inside to keep the air moving. I use a chicken nipple watering system attached to a cooler. My 4x8 run is overgrown with bushes so they can be cool during the day if they are not out in the yard ranging around. You can see by the poop marks running down the side that I would have liked it better at 30" wide. My husband would die if he knew I was already planning the next coop with the wider poop board. I can store all my feed and stuff underneath the poop board and the nesting boxes are under it too. This was coop #2. I like having the 2-3 inches of PDZ because nothing ever even gets to the plastic underneath it all. I use a slotted spatula to scoop the PDZ. The cat scooper was too wide and didn't catch enough of the droppings. I LOVE GRANULATED PDZ! I should buy stock in it.......

 

[aart]

Having it wider won't eliminate eliminations (haha) on the sides of the board...they can happen at any time when the birds are going up to/coming down from roost or hanging out on roost/board during the day.

Mine sometimes roost on the side of the board and a few nestle down right on the board itself regularly.

Mine gets pooped on the edges too.....funny tho, very very rarely any poops right on the roost itself.

Poop boards are only meant to collect the majority of 'night poops'.