poop board in a small coop

[Chi town roost]

Just got done making a coop for our 3 girls. Poop is a concern and have read alot about poop boards and sweet PDZ. My coop is 3'x4' and I wanted to put the tray on the coop floor because the roost is 22 inches above the floor, but my wife says in her reading the poop boards should be off the ground so they don't walk in poop. I contend there isn't enough room and they will walk in it hopping up to the roost and interfere with their travel up and down to the roost. So I am looking for input. Thanks

 

[jetdog]

They won't walk in it if it is raised, mine either walk up the ramp or just fly up, not a single foot print in pdz,a ramp with the board under it might be your best option.

 

[LauraSac]

I have a small coop, too, with just two birds. I honestly don't know if they step in the pdz. I don't think they do because they poop in the exact same spot every night, so I have the board situated to catch it and they don't step on that. It's all in the same corner and very easy to clean. That said, they do sometimes step in their own poop in the run. Is that your concern?

 

[cafarmgirl]

My thinking is that if the poop board is going to sit on the floor then you might as well just clean the floor under the roost each morning. I have large coops but I don't have a poop board. I just sprinkle the floor below the roosts with a very thin layer of pine shavings and just rake up and remove all the poop each morning. They go outside and it all stays pretty clean until the next morning.

If your roost is only 22 inches above the floor then installing a raised poop board between roost and floor may make that much more floor space unusable to them.

 

[Chi town roost]

we are new to this, my son gave us the chicks at Easter (ya Easter who would of thought) and we just want to do the best we can. I was looking for easy clean on the other hand my wife seems chicken obsessed and reads everything she can and wants a clean,non smelling, non dusty, poopless coop. ;-) So we are working this out with the less trial and error as possible. Thanks for input. I am also working on nipple waterer and PVC tube feeder and have a life.

 

[Chi town roost]

that was my thought. but that's why I appreciate your comments and anyone elses in case I miss something. Thank you

 

[cafarmgirl]

we are new to this, my son gave us the chicks at Easter (ya Easter who would of thought) and we just want to do the best we can. I was looking for easy clean on the other hand my wife seems chicken obsessed and reads everything she can and wants a clean,non smelling, non dusty, poopless coop. ;-) So we are working this out with the less trial and error as possible. Thanks for input. I am also working on nipple waterer and PVC tube feeder and have a life.

Ah, a poopless coop!

Now that would be something to have lol! But in all seriousness, whether you have a poop board or not, if you clean up under the roost each morning your coop should stay clean and pretty much oderless. I currently have 11 chickens and using that method I have no smell in my coops, well except before I clean in the morning! How much time your birds spend in the coop matters of course, mine are pretty much out all day.

 

[LauraSac]

I agree with cafarmgirl. Ease of cleaning is what's important. I didn't have a poop board to start, and only got it to hold the pdz. But cleaning was just as easy before I had the board. I just opened the door and scraped the shavings into a dustpan and take that straight to my compost bin. Now, I open the door and strain the poop board. My poop pan is long and narrow (it's actually a serving tray) so it doesn't take up much floor space, which was a concern with a small coop. That said, I'm in California, and once they go down to the run, they don't go back up until night (once they start laying, their habits may change, but I still doubt they'll stay in the coop except for laying and sleeping). If you're in Chicago, they'll probably spend more time in there during the winter, so floor space may be a bigger concern. But no matter what, ease of cleaning will be a priority. I also spray a homemade lavender mint spray into the coop and put fresh lavender in there. People warned me about the poop smell, but my coop smells great! And I totally get the obsession! I read everything. You'll get lots of varying advice and then you'll take some, leave some, and then change your mind. It's part of the fun!

 

[ampho]

Look at this member's video, it is a small coop but I got some good ideas from her...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/780323/cleaning-my-coop-video

This and a handy scoop I found on Amazon...I have poop boards but can be used on the whole floor of a small coop!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035H7KQ2/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1#

 

[Chi town roost]

So far it seems pretty easy, but something that still needs to be done. They have only been outside for 10 days and things are going well. I find logistics is a problem. Keeping food in the house and pine shavings in the garage. water from the hose into a dog bowl and garbage can on the other side of the property. Nothing is hard just working out the kinks, like I bought a 15 gal trash can so I don't have to transport used shavings to the garbage right away and don't have a huge trash bin in my yard. going to make a self feeder and self waterer so I don't have to worry about that each morning. I like to complain but I like it so far. really entertaining to watch the girls run around the yard