Silicone mat on the bottom of coop for ease of cleaning?

[tomik261]

PDZ is made from zeolite. I also want to know what difference there is. This is what I found:

"...Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and Zeolite [are both silica-based materials, but their compositions and structures differ significantly]....

DE is derived from the fossilized remains of microscopic marine organisms whose skeletons are composed of a natural type of silica. This gives DE its unique porous and abrasive properties...

On the contrary, Zeolites are crystalline structures that contain hydrated aluminosilicates, often with aluminum atoms integrated into their framework. The result is a set of complex, cage-like structures that allow Zeolites to act as sieves or filters at the molecular level, enabling various applications.

Insecticide Properties
Both DE and Zeolite have demonstrated insecticidal properties, although they function differently. DE’s microscopic sharp particles can penetrate the protective exoskeleton of insects, causing them to dehydrate and die.

Zeolite, in contrast, is primarily used as a pesticide carrier due to its high adsorption capacity. Its porous structure can trap and slowly release pesticides, enhancing the effectiveness of these substances..." source

DE and Zeolite are similar to diamond and graphite; the same chemical make up has structures that are very different.

Zeolite isn't as dangerous as DE but it is not completely safe either. Most fine dust can cause health problems when it is breathed in.

Sorry about the kind of source it is, I picked it because it was clear and concise. The more impressive sources seem to me to confirm the information but none were very clear, concise, or complete in the information I wanted to know.

Thanks for clearing things up

 

[Jerhanner]

You know those rubber mats for shoes and boots? I put that under the roost and then throw in the shavings. Then on light-clean weekends, I only have to pull out that mat for 80% of the poop.

 

[QODTMWTD]

Hello. I would like to ask if it would be possible to use a silicone mat at the bottom of a coop to catch all the feces and then you would simply roll it up and clean it outside? I use dry bedding so I thin this could work with it. Any opinions on this as I haven't seen any other people doing the same the closest I saw was a permanent rubber floor and I think it would make the cleaning much less of a hassle. Thanks for the replies.

It's absolutely possible. We use something very similar: foam playpen mats. They lay perfectly flat, they're light, and they come pre-made with creases that allow them to fold up flat for easy transport in and out of the barn. They're also really easy to cut to size with scissors for the area under the roosts. We have two roost styles: a two-level roost of 2 x 4s with sand under it and a ladder-style roost with pine shavings under it.

The full-size (about 6' x 6') mat goes under the ladder roost and a mat cut to size goes under the other one. Each morning we fold them up, take them outside, and hose them off. They drip-dry over whatever's handy in the barn, and then at night they get placed back under the roosts. During the day while the mats are gone the hens like to sit in the sand under the two-level roost. The mats make cleaning up so fast and easy that I can't believe people deal with scraping wood boards or even scooping poop out of sand. The mats pretty much eliminate odor and fly problems, too.

 

[Borders3]

https://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/products/hempbed-e-poultry-bedding-15kg-single-bag?

Don't know if I got the link right but I use HempBed-E Bedding makes the coop smell good. This I put under straw in the nest boxes and also on the poop boards I use a kitty litter poop scoop every night to remove the poop then put it in my hot compost bin. Totally natural, compostable and virtually dust free. I have a converted shed for my coop so walk in and don't have to bend to clean up, my nest boxes are underneath the poop boards so not in the way. My flock have access 24/7 to their run and are only in the coop to sleep and lay so very little mess in there. I have straw on the floor to cushion their landing when getting off the roost. Poop boards I would not be without I think they are marvellous.

Edit to say: I also put vinyl on the floor and the poop boards, off cut cheap from local carpet shop

Here is their description.

HempBed-E® Poultry Bedding is chopped hemp bedding for poultry with added eucalyptus - compressed 15kg bale* available only from Flyte so Fancy.

HempBed-E Bedding makes cleaning so much easier, less frequently needed because it goes further, and leaves the chicken coop smelling fresh and healthy.

Chopped hemp is a natural, dust-free, quick to compost, sustainable, eco-friendly product. It has odour eating properties, is highly absorbent and, with HempBed-E, has an added boost - Eucalyptus has been added to the mix and offer a natural way of freshening up your hen house.

Eucalyptus is well known as a mild decongestant, which can also kill air-borne germs in winter, is anti-bacterial, and much of our research points to its anti-mite properties as well.

HempBed-E Bedding absorbs up to 12 times more liquid than straw and 4 times more than shavings. It is used widely as bedding for horses because of its great absorbency and natural fly repellent qualities.

HempBed-E cannot be used for Guinea Pigs or other Cavies as Eucalyptus is toxic to them.

*approx weight when bagged. Available as single bales or pallet quantities of 10 bales or 20 bales.

Please Note: Hemp is a naturally grown fibrous plant so there will be variations of texture and colour with the seasons depending on when it was harvested. This is perfectly natural and does not make it any more or less effective.

 

[SherylTingley]

When we built our coop, we went and bought some linoleum from a hardware store and glued it in place on the floor...it has worked perfect. We also use think layer of pine shavings along with D earth and deodorizer below the shavings.

 

[Rickey Lynn]

Hello. I would like to ask if it would be possible to use a silicone mat at the bottom of a coop to catch all the feces and then you would simply roll it up and clean it outside? I use dry bedding so I thin this could work with it. Any opinions on this as I haven't seen any other people doing the same the closest I saw was a permanent rubber floor and I think it would make the cleaning much less of a hassle. Thanks for the replies.

This is a novel idea that I haven't explored. While it may work and assuming the expense of the mat is acceptable I'd like to suggest protecting yourself whenever you work with the coop and the litter. I always wear a dust mask (N95 is easy to get now) and I wear disposable gloves. Taking care of my brood is a chore that is necessary, but I also need to protect myself and my family from the dust, etc. When I am finished with my chores, the gloves and mask go into a barrel outside and I immediately wash and sanitize my hands. Perhaps its because I am in the hospitality industry, but sanitation is always on my mind.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

I only have 8 chickens and the floor of my elevated coop is only 39' (~square meter), excluding nest boxes on both sides.The roosts are diagonal (5 top girls' favorite) and parallel to one side (3 lowest ranking girls sleep there). We'd never had chickens when we got this prefab coop - talk about "lessons learned", hadn't discovered BYC yet - and I'd never design one like this after even 6 months experience keeping pullets in it. The "pull-out poop tray" never worked as advertised, becoming impossible to pull out after only a couple weeks of dusty, gritty habitation, and there's no vertical space to retrofit poop trays under the roosts, so I've been stuck leaning inside to scoop droppings out of the pine shavings and PDZ from under the roosts every couple of days - yuck and extremely awkward.

UNTIL I just recently read here on BYC about using cut-to-fit plastic runner mat (used to protect carpet/floors from wet/tracking and cheap from a roll at hardware stores.) This works a treat in my cramped situation! The 36" square piece slides in on top of the shavings/PDZ at day's end, and I just pull it out (rolling it up) in the morning with the overnight droppings and shake them into a 5-gallon bucket. The girls then enjoy the clean fluffy bedding during the day when going in & out of the nest boxes to lay. (They spend all day outside unless it's pouring rain, and a long section of their run is covered so they can be out & dry.) I lay the clear plastic flat on the nearby woodpile to dry in the sun, and any poop that stuck then pops off with my scraper before I put it in for the night. Vast improvement! (Will have to dry the mat under cover after our rainy season sets in.) I forget which "poop tray" thread the idea came from, but what a work-saver!