poop-catchers & roost heights??

[Missa]

Hi all! we are in the final stages of our coop which is 8x4 by 4' tall. I have been looking at pictures and trying to get ideas about poop boards/poop catchers under the roost. Have a few questions I would love some feedback on if you have experience with any of these things!

• Do you recommend this (poop bin or board of some sort)?
• If you use it, is it easy to clean or a pain? (seems like it might be awkward to get out a 5' board covered in poop without dumping it over??)
• What else have you used other than a board to catch poop? (bins, etc?)
• How high are your roosts and what is the recommended heights (have 2 buff orps and 2 red sex links and one banty)?
• Do they need a "ladder" to get up to the roost and will they just roost on the ladder, therefore negating the poop catcher?
• does having a poop catcher mean you have to change the litter in the rest of the coop less often? (ps, how often do you change your litter? how often do you clean the poop catcher?)

pictures are also extremely appreciated!

Thank you!!!
Missa

 

[Joe.G]

I use boot trays, they can be had in diffrent depths, you can fill it with sand or something to make it easier to clean, I just take it out side and scrape it out. I clean teh coop floor a lot less now that I have them installed, There are people on here who have a lot nicer setups but it was something that I could make cheap fast and easy.

I also use them for my Rabbits and it makes it a lot cleaner also.

 

[chicken pickin]

I just moved my chicks out to the coop last night so I dont know any of the answers about the cleaning aspect yet Im sure ill learn very soon though. But here are some pics of the inside of our coop when I was getting it ready for the girls.
These are called roost boxes They are a little box that the roosting pole actually connects to the boxes sit up ontop of a 2x4 type shelf and you just slid it off and take the whole roosting box pole and all out of the coop to clean it. We have 2 of those I have one roost box sitting on the floor of the coop right now since the chicks are still young. We also have 1 fixed roost pole that is attached to the coop we added last min for extra roost space.







edited to add - Joe.G I absolutely love your set up

 

[BethChick78]

Hi,

I'm new at this whole keeping chickens thing but my 10 red sex links & I are into week 3 are we are all very happy! They were POL & are laying quite happily so, I'll have a go at answering your questions. People on this forum will all have different ideas, you just need to decide what works best for you and your chickens. You will change things along the way too I'm sure.

• Do you recommend this (poop bin or board of some sort)? - I had no board or catcher in my original coop design & didn't have until the first proper clean out at the end of week one. I now use a boot mat (as shown in the first reply). It is so easy to whip out and clean. I've sure been converted on that one. I don't raise mine, it's just on the coop floor.
• If you use it, is it easy to clean or a pain? (seems like it might be awkward to get out a 5' board covered in poop without dumping it over??) - The boot mat is a great idea. Lightweight, easy to remove and clean.
• What else have you used other than a board to catch poop? (bins, etc?) - I had nothing and the floor was a nightmare to scrub even after week one!
• How high are your roosts and what is the recommended heights (have 2 buff orps and 2 red sex links and one banty)? - my sex links are on a 2.5ft roost bar. They have no issues with it.
• Do they need a "ladder" to get up to the roost and will they just roost on the ladder, therefore negating the poop catcher? - I decided not to use a ladder as most people on here seemed to think they would just roost on it. I have seem mine roosting on the bar at the front of the nesting boxes. Ladders also seem to promote a hierarchy, so to avoid any unnecessary bickering I opted for no ladder. So far so good.
• does having a poop catcher mean you have to change the litter in the rest of the coop less often? (ps, how often do you change your litter? how often do you clean the poop catcher?) - I would say yes in my experience. I clean my coop once a week, removing the boot tray and only replacing the shavings on the tray. We are three weeks in and I have only changed the rest of the shavings once & they really didn't need doing.

Hope that helps - good luck!

 

[jdeoliveira74]

I put sand under my roost bars for easy scooping clean up like kitty litter. I also built my roost bars across from the nest boxes to help with confusion of where to roost and where to lay. of course mine are not laying yet so we will see what happens! But they are roosting

 

[hooadefender]

your coop looks great congrats on moving the chicks into their new home how are you making out on the land clearing for your run

 

[chicken pickin]

your coop looks great congrats on moving the chicks into their new home how are you making out on the land clearing for your run

We have someone lined up to come he is just finishing another job. We are in the process of building the run in sections and we will put it all together when the trees come down. For now our chicks free range with supervision of course. And wouldnt you know it we have a hawks nest not to far from the coop. Grrrrrrrr. I now need to set up a hawk deterant lol. These chicks sure do keep me busy.

 

[AnotherSusan]

You may want to check out this thread on using PDZ and a kitty litter scooper on a poop board. When I redo my coop, it is the method I will use.

AnotherSusan