Poop boards...?

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

I am a little confused by the whole "poop board" thing. I have heard them mentioned, I have searched the term, and I guess I'm just not getting it. What are they for and why do they make cleaning easier? If the birds mostly poop when they are on the roosts, wouldn't the poo just fall to the floor, then be cleaned when the coop is cleaned? Is there another reason for them or am I missing the whole point here? Sorry... apparently I'm a little clueless.

 

[Havsom Morpork]

I think it's a matter of personal taste. I've been raising chickens for six years now and I have no 'poop board'. I just have a piece of old linolium tacked under the roost and it hoses off easy enough.

 

[Baymen Moe]

Poop boards are a good poop management tool for coops. The boards under the roosts catch the poop and it can be removed easily. I scape mine daily and put it in the compost pile. Going without them is fine if you change litter often below the roost or stir it in the shavings and clean later.

 

[colebarnhart]

It depends on the coop design. The poop board is mostly used for the coops that have a roost over the nesting boxes and it's made to slide out easy and in theory make it less messy and easier to clean.

 

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

Ok, so that actually brings up another question (since I have never composted before, but plan on doing so soon)- is it ok to add chicken poo that is mixed in with shavings or sand? Will either be good/bad for the compost?
As far as the poop boards go, I guess I get it a little now. I'll have to wait and see my coop (since I have no say in it as it's being built... I have to wait and see the finished product) and then decide if they would benefit my coop or not.

 

[Baymen Moe]

Adding chicken poo with shavings is fine, although pine shavings do take a while to break down. Sand is fine as well, but the more organic material you have in your compost pile the better. I'd limit the sand in the compost pile.

 

[Omani]

We have separate piles for garden waste, chicken waste and mix. When the chicken waste (poo and shavings) has broken down a bit, we mix it with compost from the yard and garden and let it finish breaking down. That way we don't have one big pile that we're constantly waiting on. There's always some ready to go.