Show me your poop boards!

[aart]

except for the poop that actually freezes to the roost... Not sure how to work around that.

I use a hoe with the handle cut down to about 18" to manage poop board,
works pretty good as a 'pick-axe' , but really, just wait until it thaws.
I've found that about 25°F is the tipping point between pry it off vs. leave it 'til thaw.

 

[BReeder!]

Just wait until it thaws, then scrape.

I have an old putty knife that works perfectly.

I have a few of these laying around.

 

[BReeder!]

I use a hoe with the handle cut down to about 18" to manage poop board,
works pretty good as a 'pick-axe' , but really, just wait until it thaws.
I've found that about 25°F is the tipping point between pry it off vs. leave it 'til thaw.

Well we are supposed to get a warm front and jump to 50F on Sunday. I will scrape off the chunks on the roosts then. I need to scrape the roof of my nesting boxes then too. My 2 Orps hang out up there and have made a hill of frozen poop... I'm eventually going to put sand there as well and edge it to hold the sand in. I may even put a roost there. I really didn't want too because I don't want them pooping over the entrance to the nest boxes, but I may have to.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I don't do a poop board. 1X2 welded wire under the roost....

I did something similar, only my coop doesn't have a raised floor. I re-purposed some plastic coated wire panels ... not sure what they were, maybe kennel or rabbit cage floors? and I just curved them as shown.

The poops just collects on the ground and then I clean it out from the outside... I just built it in April/May and have yet to clean it out... I do scrape the wire occasionally if it starts to clump up and let the poop just fall through, and I add a some pine shavings from time to time... so far so good, it has stayed very clean.

.

 

[BReeder!]

I did something similar, only my coop doesn't have a raised floor. I re-purposed some plastic coated wire panels ... not sure what they were, maybe kennel or rabbit cage floors? and I just curved them as shown.

The poops just collects on the ground and then I clean it out from the outside... I just built it in April/May and have yet to clean it out... I do scrape the wire occasionally if it starts to clump up and let the poop just fall through, and I add a some pine shavings from time to time... so far so good, it has stayed very clean.

.

I considered something like this when originally planning the new coop in the shed. I think it is very effective, but it doesn't allow for use of the floor space below the roosts. It certainly does cut down on how frequently you need to clean it out. Have you thought about turning the collection area into a compost bin? I'm thinking it would provide some heat in the winter if you can get it cooking in the fall. The chickens would keep feeding it and you would just need to turn it once in a while throughout the winter.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Have you thought about turning the collection area into a compost bin?

Sort of... i considered throwing some leaves in there this fall, but thought it might cause condensation issues as it broke down and composted... maybe it would have been fine though?

Next fall I’ll likely clean it out before winter and mix with fallen leaves to compost it over winter, but let it do that on the garden or off to the side.

And to your point about taking up floor space... indeed I did have plans to have broody box under there, with a sloped top that I could scrape off, but I nixed that. I’m fortunate to have unused space in the adjoining shed that i can use for that if needed.

 

[aart]

I did something similar

Nice Model!!
What program?
That curved mesh must have been tricky!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Nice Model!!
What program?
That curved mesh must have been tricky!

I use Autodesk Inventor, it’s very similar to Solidworks, and not too different than SketchUp

The mesh was pretty heavy gauge so indeed it was stiff. I just fastened the bottom edge of the first panel and then pushed on the middle till it bent and brought the top edge down to the horizontal 2x4, then screwed it in place. Then repeated that for each panel.

I enjoy the chickens, but have enough chores, so this has worked out well.

 

[aart]

I use Autodesk Inventor, it’s very similar to Solidworks, and not too different than SketchUp

The mesh was pretty heavy gauge so indeed it was stiff.

I use Inventor too!
I meant drawing/modeling the curved mesh.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Ahhhh... a fellow CADD geek chicken person!

I think I just created an arc, then extruded as a surface, then applied the mesh as a texture... so basically I cheated!