Lightweight Dropping Board

[Amber Lu]

I am working on building a droppings board in my coop. I want to make it in two pieces. A support and then a lightweight removable top box that I can pull out and disinfect/spray down as needed. Does anyone have any ideas of a lightweight, but strong, material for the topper? The size is going to be about 4x2 feet.

Thanks =)

 

[Callender Girl]

I have used OSB for a couple of my droppings boards. Then, I cover the OSB with cheap peel-and-stick floor tiles that can be easily removed and replaced they get damaged or seriously disgusting. There's enough texture that a bird -- who shouldn't be walking on it but just might -- won't slip and get hurt, but it's still smooth enough to clean fairly easily.

But my new favorite approach is an inexpensive tarp that I have hung down from the inside back of my avatar coop and underneath the two roosts.

Unhooking and emptying it is easier than scooping poop, in my opinion. I'm thinking of hanging tarps in all the coops.

 

[Amber Lu]

I have used OSB for a couple of my droppings boards. Then, I cover the OSB with cheap peel-and-stick floor tiles that can be easily removed and replaced they get damaged or seriously disgusting. There's enough texture that a bird -- who shouldn't be walking on it but just might -- won't slip and get hurt, but it's still smooth enough to clean fairly easily.

But my new favorite approach is an inexpensive tarp that I have hung down from the inside back of my avatar coop and underneath the two roosts.

Unhooking and emptying it is easier than scooping poop, in my opinion. I'm thinking of hanging tarps in all the coops.

Hmmm... Maybe fastening a tarp over the support would work, then I could scoop, or pull out and wash or dispose of it.
What did you use to fasten it?

 

[Callender Girl]

I'm not the best at construction, so I just pounded some nails in at an angle, lined up with the grommet holes in the tarp. The weight of the medium-duty plastic tarp keeps it taut enough not to slip off the nails -- most of the time. In the future, I will probably use large cup hooks or something similar to keep the tarp a bit more secure.

The biggest downside is that one of my hens has decided that rather than move across the coop to a nest box, she will just stand on the roost and drop her eggs into the "hammock." Messy, really messy.

Hope you find a workable solution!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Does anyone have any ideas of a lightweight, but strong, material for the topper?

Corrugated plastic cardboard. Sometimes called cloroplast I think.

Fits the bill..

https://www.walmart.com/ip/2-pack-Corrugated-Plastic-24x36-4mm-White/615585135

Sold in larger sheets at home depot. Also available at craft stores. Not sure if there is differences in quality.. my home depot stuff is pretty good.

I absolutely love good working waste boards. Mine are not removable plywood covered in vinyl sheet and that works well for MY set up. Cloropast is commonly used for guinea pig flooring, but I use it to block off my nesting boxes.. with proper support frame it could be useful and plenty to support a chicken standing on in without it crushing.

Happy adventures!

 

[SheaLoner]

2nd the coroplast. I use it is a slant drop board on some rabbit hutches. It will bend lengthwise, but if you add a few thin strips of wood or coroplast in the opposite direction it will stiffen it up nicely.

 

[Amber Lu]

2nd the coroplast. I use it is a slant drop board on some rabbit hutches. It will bend lengthwise, but if you add a few thin strips of wood or coroplast in the opposite direction it will stiffen it up nicely.

I would love to see this. My next project is a rabbit hutch/run.

 

[SheaLoner]

I dont seem to have a pic with the coroplast installed. But it was the "roof" to the lower pen with a 3" gap to the top cages infront, and the back was 14". I had this double decker unit parked to close to the fence so it was annoying to clean. It got separated into 2 units when I moved. Each sits at waist/chest height to me now.