I bought 6 chickens on April Fools Day...then built a coop.

[Fire Ant Farm]

Right now they just poop on the pine shavings on the floor. But I have noticed the concentration under their roost. I like the poop board idea. This will likely be the next upgrade. Will look into PDZ (its like cat litter isnt it?)

It's usually sold as a stall refresher for horses. It's zeolite, and it both dries out the poop and absorbs moisture. Don't get the powdered form, get the granular form (I've only seen the granular one, but powdered is bad for their respiratory systems, as I understand). I got a "substrate scoop" for reptiles at the pet store (looks like a regular feed scoop, but made of mesh - for cleaning an iguana cage, I suppose), and I use that to clean under the roosts (like one would scoop kitty litter) into a bucket, then to the compost pile. It helps get the larger amount of poop out of the coop. This is the one I have in my feed store.

(It's dusty - if you have a sensitive respiratory system, I've found it helps to wear a mask when dumping a lot of it in place.)

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Do you happen to have a link to the screws you used to attach the hardware cloth?

Also, what did you fasten the closure strips on the roof down with?

I love your coop! I wish I was brave enough to go with colors like that! My daughter (4 years old) scolded me for my "no color" neutral grey/brown and saw this picture and said we had to repaint our coop to match!

I see you ran the hardware cloth up to the roof. Is it possible to share some pictures of what that looks like where they come together? I am building a coop with the "Garden Coop" plans and they have it closed off at the level of the framing and an empty open section between the hardware cloth and roof.

I build the Garden Coop (love it), and then built a second one where I modified it to be larger. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Chickassan]

I said awww so many times reading this thing.Good job man.

 

[ChickNanny13]

PDZ or Sweet PDZ is used in a horse stall, look it up on the internet if you want to know the components. It absorbs the ammonia smell & it's GREAT! I ferment my feed and that really cuts down on the amount of poop & the smells also, due to them absorbing the nutrients from the feed better, they eat less and no feed waste (scattered feed). There's a thread on FF here somewhere

 

[aart]

Nice build....aprons are awesome, eh!?!

Top roost is too close to wall, best about a foot away.
But you may be putting in poop boards so.....flexibility is always good for needed changes.

Not a fan of neon green.....but nice build.
How big is coop and run?
(without opening your sketchup file)
Long time modeler here, but don't do sketchup.

 

[Daniel Braun]

Do you happen to have a link to the screws you used to attach the hardware cloth?
Also, what did you fasten the closure strips on the roof down with?
....
Is it possible to share some pictures of what that looks like where they come together? ...

Hardware cloth attached with these:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Teks-8-x...ll-Point-Lath-Screws-200-Pack-21524/100175766

Closure strips were fastened with these:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Woodtite...EC-_-rv_gm_pip_rr-_-100067957-_-100095071-_-N

Ah, the top of the run was the tricky part. Used chicken wire so I could mold it into shape between the rafters. Perhaps a risk as it is not as secure as hw cloth. You'll also see in the second photo that I'll need to go back and fill in about a 1 1/2" gap between the end rafters and the roof. That should be easy with some small rectangular strips of hw cloth though.

Top roost is too close to wall, best about a foot away.
Not a fan of neon green.....but nice build.
How big is coop and run?

I've since moved the roost so they don't have to sleep with their faces against the wall

My mom doesn't like the green either... but its my coop and its gotta be FUNKY!
The run is 12' 7" x 8'. The coop is 8'x4', about 5 1/2' tall.

 

[cacknballs]

good job!

not sure if there is enough clearance, but hang your feeders and waters from the bottom of the hen house and they won't get stuff kicked into them.