Where do chickens poop most?

[MydearWatson]

In the planning stage of my coop and from reading tons of posts, it seems like chickens poop most on their roost? Is this a correct assumption? I want to make a droppings board and I'm wondering how much poop will be on the floor and outside. Thanks for any help!

 

[CarolAnn]

Is this what is meant as a "poop board"? A board under the roosts? From what I'm seeing they poop everywhere!! Even when they spend the night in a nest box their pooping. There's a pile in a couple of them every morning.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

My pullet poop a lot when they are roosting. But they poop all day. The 1 hen I have tends to try and hold it till she get out of the coop. She seems to do 1 or 2 large poop a day very easy to pick up and dispose of. I can't wait till the pullet start doing large. Lol

 

[dogdollar]

I have a couple of removable boards under the roosting area, and I would estimate it catches about 50% of the poop. I attached the nesting boxes after quite a few of the hens had started laying, and they are so glad now to have a dedicated place to lay (instead of just laying on the floor of the coop/run) that they seem to hold the nest boxes kind of sacred.....NONE of them has ever pooped in the boxes, not even once.
DD

 

[NHchicks]

My pullets definitely poop the most at night, so that would be under the roosts. I change the bedding under the roosts every day (we're rearranging the whole thing soon anyway). They free range during the day, so they also spread their poop all over the place during the day, but that's okay, because it gets washed away by the rain and is spread out. (except when it's on the deck or walkway... yuck)

But my older hens usually waited until they were let out of the coop in the morning and then did big poops on their way up the path. I hope the pullets eventually do the same thing. Don't they kind of instinctively want to keep their nesting areas clean? I think I heard that somewhere, just like a broody hen will only go once a day or two when off the nest.

 

[gritsar]

The following statement is the truth, on my mother's grave.

My chickens rarely poop in their coop, not even while on the roost at night.
I stay with them for a few minutes after they come out of the coop in the morning and without fail, the first thing each one of em does is to squat and poop; a very large amount.
It's been this way ever since they grew out of the chick stage.

 

[swimmer]

I think my girls hold it so they can poop on my patio.

 

[gritsar]

 

[Nostalchic]

You REALLY don't want the hens sleeping in the nest at night - that makes for a nasty mess and icky poopy eggs. Hens rarely if ever poop in the nest if they're just in there for acceptable purposes - ie: laying an egg. It's just at night (which is their most poopy time). If one does start to develop a habit of sleeping in the nest, you need to break it...take her out and place her on the roost at dusk. I will cover my nests at night for a while if I have someone who wants to sleep there - it's usually a young or submissive chicken who's too scared to get up on the roost with those bossy bi****s, but - as long as you're sure you have enough roosting space - they are just going to have to learn to deal with it. At least, that's my approach to it.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

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