A garden coop

[insanity]

I am trying to build a summer coop in the garden for 8-10 birds( mostly bantams). My question is how much head room do I need to leave above the roosts?Also what is the lowest off the floor can they be? I need to keep this house as compact as possible and it will only be used at night because the run is my whole 2/3 acre garden.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are your nests going to be in there?

The way I suggest is to figure the depth of your bedding, if any, then the height of anything you don't want them roosting on, like nests. Then put the roosts about 12" above anything you don't want them roosting on.

I also suggest you make them at least high enough another chicken cannot peck their feet standing on the floor. The roosts can be a safe haven for a weaker chicken to get away from a stronger chicken if they need to.

 

[insanity]

Thanks,
I was going to put the nests at the top basically at the roof, my girls don't use my many nest boxes in the winter coop but prefer a cardboard box on my 5ft high storage shelf instead.

I also figured I would put the food and water under the nest boxes to maximize space and protect the feeders from traffic.

 

[TheEggCollecter]

I would leave a good foot from the ceiling for the roosts