Poop Boards~ Did we do this wrong?

[Blooie]

We just recently scrapped the "poop deck" in our coop as well. I am using deep litter, and it was pointed out to me (quite correctly, I must add) that by using a poop board, cleaning it daily, and dumping the poop into a bucket to be later carried to the compost heap, I was making a ton more work for myself than necessary. In addition, I was removing a large part of the, um, equation that makes deep litter work so well if I wanted it composting in the coop. Well, DUH, Diane!

So now no more poop board. I just toss some more litter (pine shavings, dried leaves, garden waste, sometimes grass clippings, a little straw, and an occasional shovel full of good old garden dirt) flip it all over once in while, and let the chickens scratch it up as well. Couldn't be easier, no smell, chickens love it, and this old body is grateful for the reprieve! I cleaned my coop and run for the first time in a year in March.

 

[Wise Woman]

We just recently scrapped the "poop deck" in our coop as well. I am using deep litter, and it was pointed out to me (quite correctly, I must add) that by using a poop board, cleaning it daily, and dumping the poop into a bucket to be later carried to the compost heap, I was making a ton more work for myself than necessary. In addition, I was removing a large part of the, um, equation that makes deep litter work so well if I wanted it composting in the coop. Well, DUH, Diane!

So now no more poop board. I just toss some more litter (pine shavings, dried leaves, garden waste, sometimes grass clippings, a little straw, and an occasional shovel full of good old garden dirt) flip it all over once in while, and let the chickens scratch it up as well. Couldn't be easier, no smell, chickens love it, and this old body is grateful for the reprieve! I cleaned my coop and run for the first time in a year in March.

Glad to hear this is working out so well for you. I think I will be going back to this method with the new coop. While I do enjoy caring for my chickens, the stress of knowing those poop boards are filling up and I will have to spend an hour out there cleaning them as well as the sand on the floor, is overwhelming to me. The dust in the coop is double what it used to be with shavings. I thought it would be less. Chores I took for granted as being no big deal, now are a huge deal and making my life difficult. I don't know why I ever thought sand in the coop and poop boards was a good idea. Live and learn I suppose.