jlwquilter
Songster
I’m so glad the gravel rake helped you out!
I use a paint or spackle knife to quickly scrape any poop on the roost bars into the sand before I rake out.
In the nest boxes I now use (after trying many different ideas) empty feed bags (have a lot of those!) rough cut to size as a liner under straw. When I collect eggs I just pull on the liner to slide it forward, get the eggs, and slide it back. If it’s dirty I pull it out, put a new liner in (I usually cut several at a time out of one feed bag) with new straw and throw the dirty straw into the run and the dirty liner into the coop trash bag (which is also an empty feed bag).
I find this to be super fast and easy and cost effective.
I say ‘nest boxes’ but mine are really those big ugly plastic garbage cans laid on their side. If it happens to have wheels, the wheels can go face up/to the side or settled into the sand to stabilze it. I still line it with a rough cut to fit feed bag (get 2 out of one feed bag). It’s on the floor. It’s tall enough that hens can walk it, deep enough that it’s kinda dark and cozy in the back end where they lay, and it’s easy for me to grab the end of the liner and slid it out to collect the eggs and slide it back into place or replace the liner/straw when needed. It’s also easy to take the garbage can into the run and hose it out when needed, let it dry for a few hours and reset up for the next day.
I use broken garbage cans that I’ve had over the years (holes or cracks in the bottoms or sides, wheel broke, one handle ripped off, etc) or pick them up when people throw theirs out.
Oops! Got off topic there but I’ll leave it anyway
I use a paint or spackle knife to quickly scrape any poop on the roost bars into the sand before I rake out.
In the nest boxes I now use (after trying many different ideas) empty feed bags (have a lot of those!) rough cut to size as a liner under straw. When I collect eggs I just pull on the liner to slide it forward, get the eggs, and slide it back. If it’s dirty I pull it out, put a new liner in (I usually cut several at a time out of one feed bag) with new straw and throw the dirty straw into the run and the dirty liner into the coop trash bag (which is also an empty feed bag).
I find this to be super fast and easy and cost effective.
I say ‘nest boxes’ but mine are really those big ugly plastic garbage cans laid on their side. If it happens to have wheels, the wheels can go face up/to the side or settled into the sand to stabilze it. I still line it with a rough cut to fit feed bag (get 2 out of one feed bag). It’s on the floor. It’s tall enough that hens can walk it, deep enough that it’s kinda dark and cozy in the back end where they lay, and it’s easy for me to grab the end of the liner and slid it out to collect the eggs and slide it back into place or replace the liner/straw when needed. It’s also easy to take the garbage can into the run and hose it out when needed, let it dry for a few hours and reset up for the next day.
I use broken garbage cans that I’ve had over the years (holes or cracks in the bottoms or sides, wheel broke, one handle ripped off, etc) or pick them up when people throw theirs out.
Oops! Got off topic there but I’ll leave it anyway