The Old Folks Home

[chickadoodles]

Ok which deb is on vacation because its not me???

deb

Sorry Deb. I read someone said you were on vacation.

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: Scg and Alaskan, just a thought. What if you had silicone poop boards to lay under your roost's? Silicone like the bake and cookware? Then you could roll it out and pop the poo off and put it back.
Maybe I am crazy. lol

 

[Alaskan]

I was about to bring up the point that it is almost impossible to do a coop clean out in winter here. I wait, wait, wait in the fall until just before we freeze for good, then do a 100% clean out. As the frozen poo-sickles accumulate during the winter and Poo Mountain under the roosts begins to form, I do my best to chisel it down. However, it's like cement in sub-zero temperatures and just not worth the effort to "skin" the poo to try to whittle it down. And so it accumulates. I'd like to think if Shel Silverstein were still alive he'd make a poem kinda like Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout about Poo Mountain. 

As soon as it thaws in spring the odor is... quickly unpleasant. I usually attempt to clean it out too early and it's still frozen solid in some parts. The first year I broke the metal bar cage that I had in the coop - it was frozen to the bottom and I pulled and pulled and warped it. Last year I broke my (metal) shovel trying to chisel the shavings out. I vow to be more cautious this year, but caution is usually thrown to the wind when spring fever hits. 

So while a nice, clean coop is ideal, around here it's almost impossible, at least during winter.

Yep..... Poop mountain.

I think my first winter with chickens was the one where it was SO cold for SO long that I started to worry that the poop mountain was going to reach and join up with the perch (this was before I had poop shelves, so we are talking a three foot tall mountain of poo). Whenever it got a tiny bit warmer I would try to kick it down... But it was total concrete toe breaking hard! I even tried using a pickax but man that just hurt me... Not the poo.

That winter there was no hope until spring.....

 

[Alaskan]

Scg and Alaskan, just a thought. What if you had silicone poop boards to lay under your roost's? Silicone like the bake and cookware? Then you could roll it out and pop the poo off and put it back. 
Maybe I am crazy. lol 

Feed sacks.... I now line the poop shelves with feed sacks in the winter.... Take sack outside.. Break off poop, replace.. And if it doesn't work, just use a new sack.

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: That's wonderful and it does not cost anything extra!

 

[chickadoodles]

Diva I just saw that you got a spirit badge. Congratulations! Way to go!

 

[getaclue]

For the record, while I mentioned lack of manpower, and supplies for sanitary conditions, I was not meaning they shouldn't use the deep litter method. The deep litter method is fine, however, even the deep litter method alone, may not be sufficient when there is continuous overcrowding. BUT, even with the deep litter method, when there is an outbreak of a disease, disinfection, and sanitation become more crucial. You can't just toss another layer of litter on top of disease contaminated litter, and expect that to fix everything.

 

[drumstick diva]

Thank you Chickadoodles - I am still smiling over it.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Sorry Deb. I read someone said you were on vacation.

What this doesn't look like vacation?

Scg and Alaskan, just a thought. What if you had silicone poop boards to lay under your roost's? Silicone like the bake and cookware? Then you could roll it out and pop the poo off and put it back.
Maybe I am crazy. lol

I wanted linoleum, bf vetoed it because he thought it would get slick. I tried feed bags once but the birds loved destroying them, so that didn't work.

Yep..... Poop mountain.

I think my first winter with chickens was the one where it was SO cold for SO long that I started to worry that the poop mountain was going to reach and join up with the perch (this was before I had poop shelves, so we are talking a three foot tall mountain of poo). Whenever it got a tiny bit warmer I would try to kick it down... But it was total concrete toe breaking hard! I even tried using a pickax but man that just hurt me... Not the poo.

That winter there was no hope until spring.....

I never got to the point of pickaxe... but at one point when it started to thaw I did pick it up with my (gloved) hands and it probably weighed 10 lbs. I took it over to the compost heap, horrified.

 

[bruceha2000]

I hate shopping. except in Home Depot or Lowes. Even then when I want something I do my research before going in the store and pretty much know what I want and where to get it.

I do like going in though and getting ideas for projects and can spend hours doing that.

deb

Peas in a pod you and I !!!