Poop-sicles blocking pop door ?!

[backintime]

My pop door is hinged at the bottom, and the door forms a ramp when opened. Well, the chickens are pooping all over their ramp, and it's freezing to the wood so that even a shovel won't scrape it off (it's been in the single digits for weeks). Now the door won't close and seal properly. Anybody have a better plan for a poop-free pop door in freezing climates? Maybe I'll have to leave the door/ramp down and fashion a new one that opens from the top????

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I hear ya with the frozen poop! I have a window that goes to a horse stall that's hinged that way. Same problem here. I had to buy a sturdy paint scraper and chisel and scrape. That window is kept closed now.

I think you're right about the door lifting upward or sliding upward on the inside of the building. The track wouldn't fill with with snow that way. Maybe wax the tracks so they don't freeze up from condensation? Short term maybe put a piece of rug or burlap on the ramp? Something flexible that you can lift off?

 

[Comet Mum]

I think a door hinged at the top makes sense, IF you are willing to latch it shut. We have a guillotine style door and it has its own set of problems with litter in the grooves and a swollen door from the rain that swells the wood and makes moving the door a challenge. I am going to rework it this spring with smaller plywood to make it easier to move. In general, I like this style because it is connected to some pulleys and it is easy for me to open/close from outside the run.

 

[orcasislandchickens]

I am with the lay a mat down and lift it off crowd. You could have two mats . Lift, replace, wash or scrape poo at your leasure, repeat. Maybe you could find old rubber car mats.

 

[Splash_Guard]

We have open door (approximately 14x14) to outside run, built an L-SHAPED entrance to block wind and prevent poop build up from making outside inaccessible.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

That poop is gonna freeze regardless, whether under a cover or not. The window I spoke of is between a stall and a feed room inside the barn. Frozen poop and hinges are not a happy situation.

 

[LynneP]

We have a double pop door, both parts hinged at the top.
The reason for this is predator protection and possible failure of one door in winter. Yep the poop thang is real! You need a paint scraper in your pocket at all times.
Ours is shown on this page, please scroll:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-LynnePs_Run

 

[rdranch]

We started with the pop door hinged at the top and opened inside the coop. After I saw that they kept sitting on it and unlatching to close others out it was changed.

Now it slides up and down inside the coop and any bedding that gets in the grooves is easily cleaned out with a putty knife. It does stick a little when it's wet out, but that's not a big problem in the high altitude desert we call home.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

Hubby made a poop door for the coop ...from the inside he put spacers made of wood and he put a handle on a piece of wood that was measured to fit the door opening .....so at night I just slide it in and down the wood goes...in the morning I just pull it up and off a nd lean it against the outside wall....so they dont poop on it...I dont put any roosts over the poop door...

 

[patandchickens]

That's why I don't like bottom hinges that fold down into a ramp. They do that

I would recommend either top hinges (and set your now-permanent ramp kind of low, so that you don't get buildup of poop on *that* to prevent the door from fully closing) or a guillotine-style sliding door. If you do the sliding door, I think the most problem-free design is to have it slide down past the door opening, 4+ inches, rather than having it butt onto a threshold.

Good luck,

Pat