Chickens pooping on roof of hen house

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Utopianite

Utopianite

In the Brooder
Aug 24, 2016
13
3
17
So, we have a 5x8 covered sand area, with two hen houses. One house is conveniently located outside of the run, while the other is inside and getting very very dirty. In the picture it was on the floor of the run, but now it's 30" off the ground on stilts and still getting covered in poop each day. Do I take the roof off since it's already enclosed by the run, or make the extra effort to move it outside of the run like we've done with the other hen house?
400
 
I'm not a pro but personally, I'd add a few roosting bars in the run. One at least higher than the coop roof. One thing I've noticed about my venture with chickens, is they like to climb to the highest place they can.

Another simple option would be to staple chicken wire to the roof trusses and the other end to the coop roof. You said the coop is now on 30" stilts, so the coop roof is probably close to the run trusses. By adding a little wire, they won't even be able to jump onto the roof.

If you take the roof off, keep in mind, that the chicken wire keeping the chickens in, won't keep some predators out. Also having the coop on 30" stilts, won't stop a raccoon. I've personally witnessed a raccoon scale a 60" smooth 4x4 without problem.
 
Right now I've only got roosting bars in the hen houses. I could try adding some up higher. I forgot to add, that there's a design flaw in the hen house that's inside of the run. You have to slide the roof forward in order to take it off (guess they didn't want to spend extra on hinges,) so if I do what I'm doing with the other hen house and place it just outside of the run, there's no way to take the roof off the clean the inside!

I don't think raccoons could get in very easily. We have chicken wire under the sand too. My oldest son wants to put a chicken swing in. They're $30 for a plastic one at the store, but couldn't I just make one with a 2" wooden dowel?
 

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