Roost and Nest Box Heights

[Bobby Basham]

The pop door will be well below the roost, I presume? No biggie. My hop-up is barely above the pop door height but they don't sleep on it so not a problem.

FWIW, I rigged up a couple pulleys so the pop door opens and closes using a rope from outside the run. I'd rather have it on a timer with an automatic door but this was what I could do at the time. And it stays open most of the year.

Speaking of creature comforts, my future coop will have a pitched roof, which is sorta wasted space on the inside, and wondering if I should suspend one of those spinning disco balls from the roof? It could keep them entertained on those dreary rainy days...LOL!

But seriously, my project is a work in progress and has been on the back burner for at least two years now. The run is finally built, just needs screened in with 1/4" hardware cloth and already have a big tarp for those hot Arizona days.

This is my run, four 8' x 8' squares, with a little section reserved for my chicken observation deck...

And another pic...

My future 6x6 coup will go in the upper left-hand corner, and the specs are constantly changing and like the idea of a swing-out front and can reach in far enough with a fork/rake/shovel.

This should probably be posted in the coup/design section, but it's incomplete and wouldn't be valuable to anyone, but it's those small details from other threads like this that really help those novices tweak and fine-tune their projects. They sometimes seem to be more detailed than some of the generalizations in the coup construction.

You folks just gave me some more ideas about the nest boxes, roosts and fine-tuning things. Please keep posting. My ladder style roosts will fold up and attach to a hook on a ceiling cross beam for easy cleaning underneath. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.

Nesting boxes and roosts are very important, but I like to go a little further planning solar power, adjustable ventilation vents, permanent water supply even music etc. I read that the Hens like NPR and Classical music...LOL!

I like to draw and just wanted to share and hope to complete my project this summer (still have a patio deck and raised garden beds to build). --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[Hannan]

My chicks are scheduled to start laying in July, and it’s April as I type! Time flies, and I’d like to know how I should set up the nesting boxes in my 5x10 run that happens to be occupied by a big honking 4x4x4 coop thingy on the far end that they shelter in (all measurements are estimates). The fence is just a little lower than six feet, and I have little to work with (picturesque neighborhood on the magazine kind of problem, you see). The lowest roost is two feet off the ground, so any nesting box ideas I use without totally squishing their roosts together?

 

[jthornton]

Some photos of my nest box in my run along with construction details in this thread. Drawings at the end of the thread.

JT