POOP boards 101. Teach me.

[Minky]

I don't have poop boards and I have decided it may be worth the effort to install.

I see all types, -some with a lip that have sand on them, to scoop out poop.
Some that are lined with paper.These are the two I am really interested in hearing more about. I'm not so interested in scraping poop.

If I use the paper method- we have a big wood boiler so I'd rip it off weekly and burn in there or dump in compost. I'd build something to fit a roll of cheap dollar store craft paper of some sort. The sand method I would use a cat litter scooper and dump into compost. We have tons of sand around here.

I have 2 coops, and 4 breeding pens. I would like the boards up so that the hens can stop walking through their poop (under the roosts) . When I cover with straw, they spend even more time in those spots, kicking and pecking... winter is coming and I'd like to use the space under the roosts to hang water/food..or for a good dust bathing spot if it is too low for water/food.

Do you have poop boards??? What kind/method do you use??? Can you post photos?? What are things you like/hate about them? How low below the roost should I make them? Do the hens just walk around on them?? Any advice is very welcome..before I build I would like to have a real plan.

 

[LalaP]

Hi! I’m a total newbie to poop boards. Mine have been in action for two days so I can’t speak from long time experience but I decided to go with sweet pdz (as opposed to sand) and the scooping is so easy and there’s no smell. Just my 2 cents...

 

[DobieLover]

In use.

After cleaning.

I used to use a mix of sand/Sweet PDZ but have switched to all PDZ.
I scoop with a metal cat litter scoop every morning and dump in a cat litter bucket that gets emptied into my compost bin when full. When poop freezes to the boards in the really cold weather I use an old hammer and painters tool to chisel it loose then scoop.
My BIL who had never been around my flock before kept commenting with a somewhat amazed tone at how my coop didn't smell.

 

[drinkoj]

@DobieLover is dead on.

We also have a poop board that has vinyl flooring on it with a roosting bar that it butts up against. When we clean this one, we pull the 7 foot board out and scrap it off with the cat litter scoop into a bucket for the mulch pile. I messed up the measurements when I built the coop poop board door, so this was the easiest thing to do, otherwise it would have been like @DobieLover, only a pull out poop board with edging and the roost bar over it.

 

[Sally PB]

I have sweet PDZ as well. One thing I really like about it is how it dries the poop out. I clean every day, using a cat litter scoop. If there's a cecal poop, I dust some pdz over it, and it's easier to scoop. And nope, no smell.

 

[WVBirdsAndBees]

We use the sweet pdz as well. We have the long narrow plastic bins (on top of a basic wood shelf under the roosts) with a thin layer of it in each one.

Works well. Bedding lasts longer and cleanup is easy. Scoop and/or dump, replace sweet pdz, done. I do have poop boards covered in cheap vinyl flooring and the sweet pdz in one coop and it's harder to scrape clean sometimes but still easy enough.

I dont regret the extra installation time in any of our coops. It saves a lot of cleaning time, both by making routine cleaning quicker and spreading deep cleans/bedding changes out.

 

[Rldad1]

I use PDZ on my poop boards. Easy to clean.

 

[aart]

Here's some posts about mine, they're kind of old, but changes are noted.
...and the threads these posts are in has a ton of examples of poop boards.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-111#post-13179595
Updates:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-178#post-18966048

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/...ch-x-9-inch-mesh-drawer-organizer-silver.html

 

[RojoMarz]

There is nothing I dislike about my poop boards. My board has enough height under it that I have added wire to the perimeter of the poop board underside. The wired in area is now a blooder/isolation area.

 

[Jammy Dodger]

1 and 1/4 in. lip to keep mixture of A.P. Sand { home depot concrete section } Sweet PDZ , and Food Grade Diotomatius Earth in poop tray . Fill up about 1 in. Droppings will mostly clump up and you scoop them up with a kitty litter plastic scoop We have used this set up for 3 years now with great results .