Need help with roosts in my coop.

[johnson215]

mine do the same thing.. i have 15 hens and they all have their favorite spot in the coop....i just let them alone.. they only use 3 out of the 8 nest boxes anyway. most love to roost on top of the nest boxes.. i used to keep a heat lamp up there in the winter but the chickens were getting under it somehow and burning their feathers off their backs...

so i don't do that anymore.. they are fine anyway.. maybe you could place blocks in the nest box and remove them every morning!!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't fret the draft thing. Some peoples birds roost in trees or in pens and the drafts don't kill them.
I don't think you can have too much ventilation.
I wouldn't put a wet bird in a draft but if they're dry I don't worry about it.

 

[SteveBaz]

How about putting a 2X4 block on each side which will serve as like in a shelf and put a poop tray under the roosting bard on the horizontal shelving like this.

Now mine is under the roost bars but yours will sit on top of the horizontal blocks on each side and it will slip in and out every day when you clean the poop board. It will put a lid or roof over the top of the nesting boxes but not allow the poop to drop down into the nests. Also it will allow the nests to have a more complete box and feel safer to be in the nest without fear of having the head to look up and feel more secure.

 

[marlene]

Quote:
Thank you for the suggestion and great pictures, must just have to try that, good idea.

 

[Ole rooster]

If the vents will be above the chickens heads at night, I don't see a draft problem. But the idea of closing off the 3 sides where the roost is located is a very good idea. The warm air off the hens bodys will rise to help keep drafts at a minimum. I have windows and all sides that stay open all day. At night I close them and lock them shut.

 

[marlene]

The vents are well above the roosts, my concern was if i made their roosts higher to stop them going in the nest boxes they would be at the vent levels.
The vents are only about4-6inches wide, all the way round the top of the coop, i planned it this way because i read so much about the importance of ventilation so do not really want to cover them up.
I will just keep the roosts where they are and make some sort of cover for the nest boxes.

 

[bairo]

Marlene...

I just re read my post and realized it sounded kind of rude, by saying "dont you go out every morning" I did not mean it to sound that way. I should have said "if you go out early in the morning"
I get in a hurry sometimes

Sorry about that