Nesting box recommendations

[brezbyme]

Here is my setup. The shed is 16 x 10. The upper roost is a 10 foot 2x4. The lower is two parallel 5 foot 2x4s. The front area, where the partition is, cuts about 4 foot off the 16. I keep the feed up there and I close that door at night, as well as the metal shed door.

 

[brezbyme]

How wide is your coop? I recommend 1 l.f. of roost space per bird, and suggest that it be 15" from the back wall to help limit skid marks on the wall. What are the dimensions of your coop? Do you intend to add a broody area? Have nest boxes accessible from outside the coop? What is your climate? I would put the boxes where ever they can easily be accessed by you without walking through a lot of chicken poop. I have my boxes by the front people door.

I'm in snow country. So, my nest boxes with outside access are inside the coop foot print. I have a 3 over 3 configuration, with 2 doors to access them from outside. When my flock got bigger, I built a raised broody cage that is 2' x 3.5'. That area has 2 big boxes, plus enough room for a third nest spot. I keep that area stuffed full of hay. That broody area can also be accessed from outside the coop. (you can view my coop by pasting the "interview post" in my signature into a search bar.)

The coop is 10 feet wide. The high roost is a 10 foot 2x4 but it's almost 5 feet off the ground. The lower roost (it's moveable, not attached to the coop like the high one) is between the high roost and the wall. I did it that way so they had a way to get up to the high one. The shed is 16 x 10 but I have a chicken wire wall at the front which cuts off about 4 feet. I posted pictures of it now so it's easier to understand what I have done so far. I live in central Oklahoma so summer is hot and winter is cold. I'm not really planning on having a brooder area but who knows??? I think I ended out with a couple of roos so I don't know what I'll do now.

 

[brezbyme]

Yes and yes.
I made the partitions removable and started with 2 individual nests and 'double', but they always treated the double as a single so I put that partition back in for 4 separate 14x14x16 nests. I use fake eggs so my 14 layers use all 4 nests every day...not that there aren't favorites that get squabbled over on occasion.

Would 4 be enough for 18 (I might have two roos) layers?

 

[aart]

Would 4 be enough for 18 (I might have two roos) layers?

You might want one or two more....I'm tempted to add more for my 14 some days.

Not sure I understand your partition wall, if you let the birds in there.
Do you have a pop door and a run off the coop portion of the shed?

 

[brezbyme]

You might want one or two more....I'm tempted to add more for my 14 some days.

Not sure I understand your partition wall, if you let the birds in there.
Do you have a pop door and a run off the coop portion of the shed?

They can't get into the run area unless I let them out. I guess that's not the best way to do it but their run isn't predator proof.

 

[lazy gardener]

Just something to think about: 5' is a pretty big jump down for LF birds. IME, they don't hop from upper roost to lower before flying to the ground. They typically do it in one movement pattern. Going up, they are more likely to make their way to a high perch in 2 jumps if there is an intermediate height. I think my high perch is 3.5'.

 

[brezbyme]

Just something to think about: 5' is a pretty big jump down for LF birds. IME, they don't hop from upper roost to lower before flying to the ground. They typically do it in one movement pattern. Going up, they are more likely to make their way to a high perch in 2 jumps if there is an intermediate height. I think my high perch is 3.5'.

I am so confused. Should I lower the 10 foot long one and just have it and not the lower ones or get rid of the 10 foot and leave the one that has two 5 foot parallel roosts? Everything I had read said I needed a foot of roost for each bird so I put 20 feet of roost, although they are always on 10 foot of roost, sometimes crowded into about 6 feet of it.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, they will crowd. But, the evening "going to roost" time is when the biggest pecking order brawls take place. So, no matter how many l.f. of roost space you have, I suggest that you have 2 of them! If that were my coop, I'd lower the high one. It looks like the perch area below the fixed full length one is a stand alone unit that can be moved? If so, you could place that perpindicular to the other one. I'm not saying that you have to lower that top one. Plenty of folks do have high perches, and do not have issues with their LF injuring themselves. I'm just pointing it out as a possible concern.

 

[aart]

Maybe this will help you figure out the heights?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-should-stuff-be.73427/

 

[brezbyme]

Yes, they will crowd. But, the evening "going to roost" time is when the biggest pecking order brawls take place. So, no matter how many l.f. of roost space you have, I suggest that you have 2 of them! If that were my coop, I'd lower the high one. It looks like the perch area below the fixed full length one is a stand alone unit that can be moved? If so, you could place that perpindicular to the other one. I'm not saying that you have to lower that top one. Plenty of folks do have high perches, and do not have issues with their LF injuring themselves. I'm just pointing it out as a possible concern.

Okay, I'll put some thought into reconfiguration. I had originally intended the 10 footer to be lower, I just ran out of 2x4 to create the drop. That is easily remedied. Yes, I can move the lower one. Any thoughts on locating the nesting boxes?