Three years ago when we moved to our current home, we set up a coop in a shed already on the property. We didn't want to damage it as some day we know it would be converted back to a shed for my husband's workshop so we worked with what was there. The day to return it to a shed is approaching and we will start working on a new coop this summer.
In my wisdom, I installed poop boards in our current coop. However, contrary to most info on here, I do not find them easy to clean. I cannot do it every day due to a chronic illness and hubby works 12 hours a day. He does the feeding and watering when I am not up to schlepping out there, but he does not have time to do poop boards each morning as he generally leaves by 5 am.
So I aim for once a week and it is so gross seeing all that poop there, that I can barely keep my breakfast down while doing it. they all roost in the exact same spots each night and so it piles up into little mountains of poop! I was never chicken poop squeamish until we installed these poop boards.
We used dog crate pans to put the sweet PDZ in and it is not easy as each board needs to be pulled out from under the roost and set onto of the roost in order for me to clean it. They are kind of heavy for me and the whole process is time consuming. Even if I did it every day, I would still have to pull the pans out one by one, clean them, then put them back. Perhaps it is a bad design? I think maybe we put them too close to the roosts. In other pictures it seems the poop boards are well below the roosts. We will be re-using the ladder in the picture below and I am wondering how far below I should install the poop board. Or should I just make new roosts out of 2 x 4s and put the ladder in their run for fun?
I need to get this right in the new coop so I can care for the chickens on my own. It will give me some purpose in life and a reason to get up and get dressed, especially on bad days. We are building the coop right off the patio so it is only a few steps away for me and I want to make it work as well as possible. Hubby can help once in a while for really big jobs like spring cleaning the coop, but I want to do the daily chores all on my own. I like the idea of cleaning the poop out each day, but there has to be an easier way so I can get to it before it all piles up. Here is a picture of what we have now. Help!
We will be building the new coop from scratch, so I can have it any way I want. If they were easier to clean out, I could do it each day before it piles up into mountains. I need to get this right, otherwise, I will have to go back to the deep liter method as this is just too difficult and gross. Thanks for any suggestions.
In my wisdom, I installed poop boards in our current coop. However, contrary to most info on here, I do not find them easy to clean. I cannot do it every day due to a chronic illness and hubby works 12 hours a day. He does the feeding and watering when I am not up to schlepping out there, but he does not have time to do poop boards each morning as he generally leaves by 5 am.
So I aim for once a week and it is so gross seeing all that poop there, that I can barely keep my breakfast down while doing it. they all roost in the exact same spots each night and so it piles up into little mountains of poop! I was never chicken poop squeamish until we installed these poop boards.
We used dog crate pans to put the sweet PDZ in and it is not easy as each board needs to be pulled out from under the roost and set onto of the roost in order for me to clean it. They are kind of heavy for me and the whole process is time consuming. Even if I did it every day, I would still have to pull the pans out one by one, clean them, then put them back. Perhaps it is a bad design? I think maybe we put them too close to the roosts. In other pictures it seems the poop boards are well below the roosts. We will be re-using the ladder in the picture below and I am wondering how far below I should install the poop board. Or should I just make new roosts out of 2 x 4s and put the ladder in their run for fun?
I need to get this right in the new coop so I can care for the chickens on my own. It will give me some purpose in life and a reason to get up and get dressed, especially on bad days. We are building the coop right off the patio so it is only a few steps away for me and I want to make it work as well as possible. Hubby can help once in a while for really big jobs like spring cleaning the coop, but I want to do the daily chores all on my own. I like the idea of cleaning the poop out each day, but there has to be an easier way so I can get to it before it all piles up. Here is a picture of what we have now. Help!
We will be building the new coop from scratch, so I can have it any way I want. If they were easier to clean out, I could do it each day before it piles up into mountains. I need to get this right, otherwise, I will have to go back to the deep liter method as this is just too difficult and gross. Thanks for any suggestions.