Chicken door and nesting box height - planning for deep litter method.

[Hawkeye2010]

How high should the chicken door and nesting boxes be off the coop floor when using the deep litter method? Just finalizing my coop design. Thanks in advance!

 

[dbounds10]

How high should the chicken door and nesting boxes be off the coop floor when using the deep litter method? Just finalizing my coop design. Thanks in advance?

I use deep litter and actually just started it. I currently have about 4 inches and will be adding 3-4 more next week. Once that is done we were planning on 12-18 inches a above the bedding for our roll away nest boxes. We do t have a pop door yet but will install it just a few inches higher than the bedding to keep most of it inside and probably put a small ramp so they don’t have to jump out. Right now we have a man door with a slide out board to keep bedding in.

 

[Hawkeye2010]

So if I'm planning on 12 inches of litter, having the bottom of the coop door 18" off the floor of the coop should be ok?

Do I then want the nesting boxes 28" off the floor of the coop so there is a usuable 16" underneath them?

 

[NatJ]

So if I'm planning on 12 inches of litter, having the bottom of the coop door 18" off the floor of the coop should be ok?

I would make the door go all the way to the floor, for easy cleanout.

Then I would put a board across the bottom of the opening, to keep the bedding in but be easy to remove later (secure the board with 1 or 2 screws at each side.)

You can change to a smaller board if you have trouble stepping over it, or add another board above the first if the bedding gets deeper.

Do I then want the nesting boxes 28" off the floor of the coop so there is a usuable 16" underneath them?

That height would probably be fine, although higher would also be fine if your coop is tall enough to make that possible.

Remember to have some kind of perch or landing platform in front of the nestboxes, so chickens can fly up and land, then fold their wings and step gently into the nest (safer for the chickens, and safer for the eggs.)

Think about what height nestbox would be convenient when you are collecting the eggs, whether you collect them from inside or outside. And try to allow enough space that roosts are higher than nestboxes, because chickens like to sleep as high as possible and you don't want them sleeping (and pooping) in the nests.

 

[dbounds10]

So if I'm planning on 12 inches of litter, having the bottom of the coop door 18" off the floor of the coop should be ok?

Do I then want the nesting boxes 28" off the floor of the coop so there is a usuable 16" underneath them?

I would think that would work, I might provide a ramp just to help prevent foot injuries. When I say 12-18 in for the nest boxes that is giving me 12-18 inches of usable space underneath them

 

[DLA]

You can make the nesting boxes any height you want as long as they are not higher than the roosts and not on the floor and they have a way to get up and down. 18 to 24 sounds about right.