Useful power tool for winter clean outs

[imnukensc]

Still uncertain why you think a droppings board with some dry sand and PDZ wouldn't work with sifting the poop out once or twice a week. Seems like a lot less work to me, but in the end it may not be. FWIW, I don't use a droppings board, either, but my climate is totally different and my "floor" under the roost is not solid.

 

[aart]

Still uncertain why you think a droppings board with some dry sand and PDZ wouldn't work with sifting the poop out once or twice a week.

Really cold weather....that goes on for daysanddaysanddays.....
Tho I sift the pdz daily, freezing is definitely something to deal with here, can't always get it all off.

 

[MROO]

Really cold weather....that goes on for daysanddaysanddays.....
Tho I sift the pdz daily, freezing is definitely something to deal with here, can't always get it all off.

Understood! I use a combination of wood chips and pine shavings for much the same reason. If I don't collect eggs within an hour or two, they freeze and crack ... and poo freezes MUCH more quickly than eggs. I HATE this cold snap! I already want my flip-flops back ... and it's only December!

 

[imnukensc]

Really cold weather....that goes on for daysanddaysanddays.....
Tho I sift the pdz daily, freezing is definitely something to deal with here, can't always get it all off.

Now I understand.

 

[aart]

Now I understand.

Always good to look under avatar

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Yes, we have the frozen poop block issues too. I’ve been going at it with my pitch fork...and saws-all..don’t tell my husband.....that looks great..our temps are just like yours and it stinks... thanks for the heads up! Only good thing about frozen poo...no smell!..or, not as bad...

 

[gtaus]

Sorry...but this would have made good video. Wonders, seriously, how much of that 'chip cube' was water?

Yeah, I bet if I could video myself making stupid mistakes around the house I would probably have a good following on YouTube. It was a mistake not to cover the 17 gallon tubs of wood chips. I had planned on making a pallet shed with a tarp on top to keep out the rain and snow. That would have been nice.

However, when I was nailing the pallets together, I accidently shot a 2 1/2 inch brad nail through my left hand index finger.

Accidents happen when you try to do a 2 man job by yourself.

Anyway, my finger hurt like heck and got more sore over the next few days. During that time, it snowed and the project was never completed. I was unable to grasp anything with my left hand - it just hurt too much. So I knew that project would have to be finished next spring after the snow melts.

I don't know exactly how much of the "chip cube" was water, but it was solid enough that I could stand on it. Fortunately, the 18v cultivator was strong enough to break it apart and into smaller pieces. At least the chips were clean, although I was not happy that they contained so much water content which I suspect will add to the moisture in the coop. I made a mistake, and will have to learn from it and adjust. I'll probably haul a few of those 17 gallon tubs filled with wood chips into the garage and let them dry out. But that's a real pain in the backside because we need to keep the cars in the garage during winter, not woodchips. I'll think of something.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Go with a poop board you won’t be sorry.

 

[gtaus]

Again, we don't know what we don't know, but if OP dumped clean.....but wet.....chips in the coop, they introduced a whole lot of water and moisture in there they didn't want. Frostbite city! If it is going to remain warmer in coming days, and you see the chips drying out.....leave em......toss the scratch on and let birds turn em to dry em even more. But remember, this time of year, moisture of any kind and from any source is not your friend.

Great idea, however to get rid of the droppings pile. When that thawed out, it was going to A: reek, B: release days and days of accumulated frozen water.....as much or more than anything you brought in with your wet chips.

We have a couple days of 38F temps, so much warmer than the past 4 weeks. I only added a thin layer of those frozen chips to the coop bedding. As I stated, I made a mistake not covering the tubs with wood chips. I have been monitoring the humidity in the coop, and, so far, have not seen any increase in humidity. I also throw scratch down on the bedding every morning to encourage the chickens to scratch and turn the wood chips. I think that will help.

It would be certainly easy enough for me to rake out the frozen poo chips I broke up with the cultivator. I don't think it will make much of a difference now, but come spring when everything has a good chance to thaw out, then I might be happy that I took some of that frozen poo out during the winter. My plan was to just add additional wood chips over the frozen poo all winter long, but I'm hearing from people that maybe there is a better option - just removing the frozen poo itself.

 

[gtaus]

Still uncertain why you think a droppings board with some dry sand and PDZ wouldn't work with sifting the poop out once or twice a week. Seems like a lot less work to me, but in the end it may not be. FWIW, I don't use a droppings board, either, but my climate is totally different and my "floor" under the roost is not solid.

I don't know of anybody around here that uses a droppings board under the roost. Dry sand is going to get wet from the poo and when it freezes it will turn hard as concrete. In theory, throwing additional wood chips over the frozen poo throughout the winter should work. That's what lots of people around here do. There is usually a big spring cleanup once the snow melts, but nobody I know around here cleans out the coop during the frozen winter. This is my first winter with laying hens, so it's all a learning process for me to see what works for my climate.

I do appreciate, and consider all comments offered by the BYC community. I am certainly not stuck in my ways as I have not yet developed any hard learned lessons. Thanks.