The girls want to help to!
This message was edited Dec 14, 2009 3:35 PM
DH built poop boards for me
Checking things out
Henrey the hamburg is getting quit handsome.His comb looks like robin hoods hat
This message was edited Dec 12, 2009 1:51 PM
one under each roost will be so much easier to clean
That is a great invention. We just use a sharp wide hoe and knock the poop in the floor and pile more shavings on top of it. :) They mostly poop out in their exercise pen that has a foot of fall leaves in it. Stays dry because it has a roof over it. Come spring we'll rake it all out and put it on the garden and till it under.
You have a lovely coop there Green. Those chickens are blessed.
I want a poop board!
THE GIRLS HAVE NOT BEEN OUT FOR TWO DAYS,SO COLD AND WINDY HERE WAY BELOW 0 WITH WIND CHILL,IT WAS 6 DEGEES THIS MORNING.IF THE WIND WOULD GO DOWN IT WOULD NOT FEEL SO COLD.THEY ONLY ROOST ON THE TOP TWO RUNGS OF EACH ROOST,HENREY SLEEPS BY HIMSELF ON THE EDGE OF THE NESTING BOX,HES ONLY BEEN HER A FEW WEEKS AND HE IS STILL YOUNG,HOPFULLY HE WILL KNOW THAT HE IS A ROOSTER SOON AND NOT LET THEM BOSS HIM AROUND,HE DOES CROW BUT THE MINUTE HE COMES DOWN ON HIS POLE THEY CHASE HIM,SO HE HAS TO BE FEED UP ON HIS POLE HE HAS HIS OWN DISHES SCEWED TO THE WALL.
This message was edited Dec 12, 2009 4:25 PM
THE AMONIA SMELL WAS SO BAD I HAD TO DO SOMETHING,I ASKED ON BYC AND THAT IS WHAT THEY TOLD ME TO DO,I DID HAVE SOME BOARDS LAYING ON THE FLOOR UNTILL DH COULD BUILD THESE ONES AND I CLEANED THEM OFF EVERY MORNING AND IT DID MAKE A HUGE DIFFERANCE IN THE AMONIA SMELL,CORSE ITS BEEN SO COLD THAT THE POOP FREEZES AS SOON AS IT COME OUT OF THEM LOL.
Off topic.
I'm reading this book called "21 Days to a Healthy Heart" by Alan L Watson, and the first thing he recommends is LOTS of good eggs. "Good" does not include most eggs found in our grocery stores. This author believes the cholesterol theory is totally untrue, and that we should eat as many eggs as we want. He mentions how and why eggs prevent macular degeneration and also that eggs lower homocysteine levels. Apparently if your homocycsteine level is high your chance of having a heart attack or stroke are also high. Methionine, cysteine, cystine, lecithin, choline, lutein and zeaxanthin are all mentioned as vital nutrients we all need to stay healthy, and are all found in eggs.
I think about chickens and how they have kept people alive around the world, both for their meat and eggs. I seriously doubt our ancestors would have survived without their chickens. Then, along comes television and the Beverly Hillbillies, conveying people that raise their own food or hunt are just unsophisticated idiots. It all became unfashionable.
I'm happy that raising our own chickens is making a great come back. I would love to have raw milk some day too.
I have 3 nanny goats I am going to breed. One this month, one next month, and one the month after. That way I stretch my milking time out longer and I'm not overwhelmed with kids. I can't wait to try making cheese. I've never drunk goat's milk but I've read that it's much easier to digest and since I have stomach ulcers I think it will help me.
Green, i bet if you left one end off the board it would be easier to rake the poop out..i'm gona have to show DH so he can make me some too..i wonder if your girls will wind up sitting in them overnite..let me know..lol
Nope they don`t sit in them, there roost is right over them so when they poop it falls right in there and I take a kitty litter scooper and scope it out the next morning.I keep sweet pdz in it its just like kitty litter only safe for chickens.They only sit on the top two roost on both of the roost.Its working great.I never knew they pooped so much while they sleep.
Green: The only problem I have with the poop boards is this a method you are using to get rid of the amonia only or what? The only reason I ask is that with deep litter the poop composting is part of what keeps the heat in during the winter. My shavings are about eighteen inches deep and the girls love to dig holes in it and keep warm similiar to when they dust bathe. I am not having any problem with amonia at all, so forgive me for my questions as I am just trying to understand? There is always so much to learn and I thank you for your patience with me. Howie.
Yes the amonia and some of the condensation.My littler is about 10 inches right now but I add two it about every four days maybe and inch or two.The smell has gone down a lot.I have been keeping the vents closed because its so cold and the wind is awful,it was 11 degrees in there the other night.I did put a heat lamp in there for real cold nights.This is working for me so I`m happy with it.I find with no heat lamp and the vents closed that the coop stays 10 dgrees warmer than outside.If the wind in not blowing then I will open the vents again.
Thank for the explaination, that really helped me to understand the purpose for the poop boards. Brrrr that is really cold, I know here when it gets down to single digits it's cold but when the wind blows it's murder. Thanks again, sometimes I'm a little dense...LOL Howie
I scoop everyday and I am amazed at how much poop I get from 30 chickens just over night,I will have a nice compost to put on my flower beds in the spring.
I've noticed that with my EE's & buff Orps.. They poo so much its awful. My RIR's were penned up & i didn't have this much trouble. I was doing deep litter but even turning it every day its still getting damp in one corner where they have a favorite roost. My coop doesn't smell.... but it drives me nuts how much poo there is. I might try the boards under the roosts. Maybe that would make it easier. I need Santa to bring me a nice pitch fork to help turn the litter. Thanks for the idea!