Under the poop board...

[Blue Hill Farm]

Our little 8x6 coop-in-progress has limited floor space and I've been racking my brain for days (ouch

) on how to use every inch to its best advantage.

Earlier today while I was out in the partially finished coop watching chick TV, I happened to notice how much space the poop board to be (ran out of OSB) will take up once made and installed....and what a waste of good space underneath.

So I started thinking of all the different ways I could use it; food/water, dusting area, storage space, even nest boxes...my mind was spinning with sudden possibilities! LoL I know, I know...but sometimes the most obvious thing can be missed.

Then I came back down to earth when my dear sweet hubby said, " You wanna crawl under a POO board? HAHAHA!" Right...

so anyways, I still believe the idea is sound in theory.

Please help to inspire me fellow BYC'ers!

How would you (or do you) utilize this space?

 

[Judy]

Why not put nest boxes underneath? Look here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642

 

[Grammahen]

I have my nest boxes underneath too but they like the roost in front of the window the best. I have a board under that one too and leave the space underneath open for walking and sleeping space for the silkies.

 

[Schroeder]

Maybe I don't clearly understand your question, but the poop board needn't consume any floor space. All the poop is deposited over night. While the girls are out in their run all day, the poop dries a bit making it easy to scrap off into a bucket in the afternoon. Then straight to the compost bin.

I have 12 chickens in a 6x6 coop (I know this is too many - I will cull before cold weather). I haven't yet had to change the deep litter pine shavings and they have been in the coop for 3 months.

 

[Ferngully]

We have roosts and poo boards on both long walls of our coop.One side has a roll-out bin for extra feed storage under it and a container to scoop the poo into when we clean the boards, and on the other side we have our nest boxes under it. So far both have worked out well. I have yet to come out of the coop with poo on me, lol. Even with these items, little floor space is lost or wasted and they still have plenty of room to run around inside.

I agree with your thinking, utilize the space if you can. My birds are out in the run year round with our climate and don't need to be shut in for any length of time other than sleeping at night.

Christmas time is a great time to find storage bins that are taller and not as wide(wrapping paper storage) and can store a decent amount of feed.

 

[Baymen Moe]

How tall is your coop? Like Schroeder said the poop board really doesn't have to take up any floor space at all. Here is mine in my 8x8 about 3ft off the floor. It's working like a charm.

Bill

 

[Baymen Moe]

Sorry, I think I get the question now. The space under the poop board sounds like a good space for more chickens.

 

[Blue Hill Farm]

^ Hehe, indeed it does!

And sorry for being so confusing everyone.

The roof is 9ft at the highest peak tapering down to 6ft, and I've made three 64 inch long roosts at 3ft, 4ft, and 5ft. So there is plenty of room underneath.

I loved the idea of the nest boxes in the space until I saw an ingenious set up with a sloped roof above that hinges up to a hidden storage shelf. How nifty is that!

So I'll probably end up placing the food and water under the poop board, at least for the time being...and until I make that cool PCV feeder I saw on here somewhere.

It just never ends.

Thanks guys!

 

[Kezzie]

Wow- thanks for all the posts. I'm just designing the interior of my coop now and this changes a lot. What are the benefits of a "poop board" over a shallow box underneath with pine shavings or straw in it? I would think the latter would be easier to clean out rather than having to scrape poo daily. Or am I missing something? That's always a possibility!

 

[Baymen Moe]

Quote:
It takes me maybe 30 seconds to scrape the poop board clean from 15 chickens and I don't need to bend over. Right into a bucket it goes and to the compost pile.

Bill