2 chick coop building process & questions

[QueenBubbles]

So the big question at this point is how long the ramp needs to be (or what degree of rise) for the chickens to get up 3 feet.
Thank you all so much! I'm am a newbie on all this building stuff.
Also, if I section off a foot of space for the nest box, is it cool if it's 2 feet long?

 

[Michael OShay]

A 45 degree angle will work fine as long as you have wooden slats running across it every 3-4 inches for them to be able to grip with their feet. A two foot long nest box will work just fine (better oversized than undersized). In fact I have almost always built tunnel nests (instead of individual nest boxes) for my hens and they work very well.

 

[QueenBubbles]

Cool, thanks!
Another thing I've been debating is whether to let them have access to the space on top of the nest ceiling or wall off that whole side. I'll have a door to access that side, so I will be able to clean that surface, which

 

[QueenBubbles]

Oops. Accidentally hit reply...
Anyway, I am fine with them roosting and pooing on top of the nest box since it won't dirty the eggs.
The argument against is that they would lay eggs there, too.
But if there is no bedding material on top and they have that small enclosed area (the covered nest box) with bedding, wouldn't they chose the designated nest box?
I want them to have max room available and not have dead space in the coop.
What do others think?

 

[vehve]

Oops. Accidentally hit reply...
Anyway, I am fine with them roosting and pooing on top of the nest box since it won't dirty the eggs.
The argument against is that they would lay eggs there, too.
But if there is no bedding material on top and they have that small enclosed area (the covered nest box) with bedding, wouldn't they chose the designated nest box?
I want them to have max room available and not have dead space in the coop.
What do others think?

I'd go with external nest boxes. That way they take up no space in the coop.

 

[BAKAR]

Building a coop is a daunting task.... here's a pic of ours.... been three weekends :-(...

 

[Michael OShay]

I'd go with external nest boxes. That way they take up no space in the coop.

I've always built my nests with slanted tops so they can't roost on top of them but you are right about external nests taking up no space in the coop.

 

[vehve]

I've always built my nests with slanted tops so they can't roost on top of them but you are right about external nests taking up no space in the coop.

I think the internal ones are fine in bigger walk-in coops where you can utilize the space under the boxes for the chickens, but this coop looks so small to begin with that I wouldn't sacrifice any more space. Personally I went with a slightly different idea, my nests are sort of external, but I built a cabinet on top of them for feed and other stuff.

 

[QueenBubbles]

My coop is pretty small, but I only have 2 chickens. Once my lovelies bewitch my family and I prove I can handle dealing with the poo, I can start thinking about expanding my micro-flock.
We got a lot more done today - here is the latest: