poop trays

[llowlife]

Someone recommended poop trays under the roosts. Sounds like a good idea. I was thinking commercial baking pans. Found a good deal but they are an hour away where I almost never go. What ideas do you guys have. I can make metal ones but not sure how large of sheets I have.

 

[arianna7]

soooo....

i made a poop tray for my smaller chick coop, its just a square (like a frame) of wood with hardware cloth, and a walkway for the chicks to walk on. it just slides out, hose it down and viola! i don't have a pic unfortunately, sorry!

 

[StinkyAcres]

You could do trays or just a board covered with a washable surface such as vinyl flooring. Both should have a bedding, sand, or Sweet PDZ in them to dry out the poop.

Personally, I use deeper concrete mixing tubs under the roosts so I can easily remove the majority of the poop without shoveling or sifting, but I don't need to clean them out as often as if I had poop boards. The poop boards need to be cleaned regularly. Many people sift out the poop daily.

 

[llowlife]

Ok I had to look up PDZ. Seems reasonable. I assume its better than normal kitty litter.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I had mine built of 1x lumber. They actually are trays. But I found that just screwing the pieces together was not enough, they should have been glued. The sand began leaking out of the gaps, which grew larger and larger. So I had to remove some of the sand, and used Great Stuff to fill in the gaps. That solved the problem. I now wish the roosts were a little higher over the trays, as I have hens who sleep in the trays. Also be sure any screws do not protrude through the boards.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I scoop mine daily, since some of my hens insist on sleeping under their Dear Rooster, lol. It only takes a few minutes.