Poop board or no poop board?

[ECBW]

In my setup (6x3 reach-in, not walk-in), the primary advantage is providing cover to feeder and waterer.

 

[flowergirl60]

I think it depends on the size of the coop. Mine is 4 x 8 and I don't have one. I don't thinkd it would be to my advantage to have one. And if they free range the inside doesn't get that bad. It takes me 2 minutes to go in and pick up poop.

 

[latebloomer]

Flowergirl, I think you need more chickens.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
They are totally optional of course.

They are however quite helpful if you are trying to keep the coop extra clean or keep air quality extra good. Because, they allow you an EASY way to collect poo in mere seconds every morning so that it is not offgassing humidity and ammonia vapors into the coop all day.

Also, if you are Seriously Into composting, they give you an easy source of *pure* poo that you can mix with exactly the right matching amount of high-carbon materials to produce optimal composting. (Whereas, if you just rely on coop cleanings, the great majority of people end up with much much too much shavings or straw in relation to poo, and thus it composts pretty slowly)

If you haven't the room under the roost TO put in a droppings board, or would not bother cleaning it regularly even if you had it, then I would say it is not worthwhile. However for many people it IS quite useful. It just depends.

(e.t.a. -- latebloomer, I know you're 'just' trying to be funny and following in the general BYC fashion of lets all urge each other to get lots more chickens, but you know, it is not really in the CHICKENS' best interest to be more-crowded. The previous poster has a nicely-moderate stocking density going there, should we not be APPLAUDING her for her self-control in the face of this "collect 'em all!" mentality, rather than egging her on to join the pack no matter how it affects her chickens?? Sorry, I just see so many of these comments and this time I have just "snapped" I guess, it is not really meant at you personally but at everyone who makes these sort of (IMO) poorly-thought-out comments...)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[jgervais]

what are the reasons NOT to use the deep litter method?
It seems to keep the chickens warmer, good compost and most imporant - less cleaning!
Im trying to figure out why people are choosing not to use this?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Are you speaking from personal experience or from reading enthusiastic descriptions of it (most of which were generated by OTHER people working off having read OTHER peoples' descriptions, and so forth and so on...)

The biggest difficulty with what people seem to think is "the" deep litter method, i.e. where you keep it damp and actively-composting, is that it both requires and creates considerable humidity. Not necessarily a big issue in the South or if you have a virtually open-air type coop, but for those with winters that get freezy (which tends to be the people most attracted to the idea of compost-generated warmth!) using the enclosed shed-type coops that are by far the most commonly used these days, it can create considerable problems with frostbite and so forth.

It can also be reeealll hard (and IMO not always possible in all circumstances) to balance moisture, composting, things-yet-to-have-composted, and rate of turning of litter to prevent there from being pretty considerable buildup of ammonia, especially at ground level, especially when the litter is disturbed e.g. by chickens scratching around.

Also, it does quite a job on anything wooden it comes in contact with, like your walls and posts.

And finally, it simply DOESN'T work in the iconic I-read-about-it-and-it-sounds-so-good way in every circumstance. Because of all the variables involved.

Yes, there are SOME people -- primarily those with quite a very large amount of airflow thru their coops, often with the coop being either essentially fresh-air or with it being part of a much larger building -- have things work in the "poster child" way.

But many many who try that simply cannot achieve it, not because they're lazy or stupid or anything but simply because it *isn't* going to work in their particular situation (given all the variables) without producing more bad consequences than good.

There is no "the" deep litter method, really really.

There are a whole lot of different tactics for managing your floor litter, involving deepish litter, each with their own pros and cons.

I would strongly urge people NOT to get fixated on some storybook version but rather to experiment around and simply see what works best for YOU and do THAT. Letting the chips fall where they may.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ChiknMama]

Pat,

Thank you very much for the lesson on the deep-litter method. I was going back and forth on this and think I will just get a seperate composting bin. We are in the Northeast and I think we have too much snow and ice IMO for the deep litter method. Who knows maybe we can try it when we have a lot more experience

 

[Chick Norris]

I've been debating using a board or not as well. I, too, have a 6x6 coop (with 6 chicks getting ready to move in). After doing a lot of researching on BYC, I think I'm going to put in a board and use the space underneath for an automatic waterer and feeders.

db

 

[bow-chicka-bow-bow]

Quote:
IMO a 6X6 coop with eight birds, are they large fowl or bantams, is tight. A 6X12+ covered run would take the pressure off the poop volume in the coop but IMO you will need to clean often if the birds are confined to the coop for any length of time.

The birds are standard size, not bantams. The nest boxes are attached, so they do have a full 6x6 coop and the run is approx 14 ft long with space under the coop to run around. So, I don't expect they will have to stay inside except to sleep, lay eggs or eat. There are 4 nest boxes. It may be a little larger, but 6 x 6 is approximate. My husband just started building it with not specific plans and we thought we were ok with the size. Now, I'm worried.

 

[latebloomer]

Quote:
IMO a 6X6 coop with eight birds, are they large fowl or bantams, is tight. A 6X12+ covered run would take the pressure off the poop volume in the coop but IMO you will need to clean often if the birds are confined to the coop for any length of time.

The birds are standard size, not bantams. The nest boxes are attached, so they do have a full 6x6 coop and the run is approx 14 ft long with space under the coop to run around. So, I don't expect they will have to stay inside except to sleep, lay eggs or eat. There are 4 nest boxes. It may be a little larger, but 6 x 6 is approximate. My husband just started building it with not specific plans and we thought we were ok with the size. Now, I'm worried.

that's why they invented additions...