Advice on coop

[SurferchickinSB]

Thank you! Poop boards are going in.

Here’s a photo of my poop board, I have three nesting areas underneath and a couple more off to the side. I have heard people say that you don’t need that many nesting boxes, but mine use all of them and that way they don’t raise a ruckus fighting over the boxes. I have two roosting boards above the poop board. I like to keep my nest on the ground because I let my chickens raise chicks once a year or so. They raise them in the coop with the other chickens, so I don’t worry about integration issues. My coop is 4 feet wide by about 8 feet a long and I usually keep about 8 to 10 chickens. They seem really happy with their coop, I know it’s a bit tight for that many chickens, but they only go in there to sleep and lay their eggs. I keep it really clean, no poop laying around except for in the morning before I throw out the newspaper. I have a piece of vinyl on top of the poop board so that moisture doesn’t seep into the wood and I keep the newspapers underneath the piece of vinyl just to have it handy. My coop also has an automatic chicken door that I set to open when the sun comes up and that way they can just go out to eat and drink as soon as they wake up.

 

[MoaLepo]

The ventilation needs to be open day and night. In fact, it's more necessary at night because most chickens spend the day outside in the run.

What kind of chickens do you have? My 6-week-old chicks are flying up to roosts at the height of my shoulders and my 18-month-old California White still flies like a helicopter anywhere she wants to go. But by the time my Brahma was laying she was too heavy to get more than about 18" off the ground.

3 chickens only need about 3 feet of roost.

Also, chickens fly at about a 45-degree angle so they can have trouble getting up and down if there isn't enough clearance between the roost and any obstacles.

I have a Barred Plymouth Rock, Buff Orpington, and Olive Egger. So far I’ve only seen them try to get on the lower bar and they sleep there together on the bottom right corner. Also I could leave the window open at night as well, thanks.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have a Barred Plymouth Rock, Buff Orpington, and Olive Egger. So far I’ve only seen them try to get on the lower bar and they sleep there together on the bottom right corner. Also I could leave the window open at night as well, thanks.

IIRC, Orpingtons get pretty heavy and may not fly well as adults.

 

[MoaLepo]

Here’s a photo of my poop board, I have three nesting areas underneath and a couple more off to the side. I have heard people say that you don’t need that many nesting boxes, but mine use all of them and that way they don’t raise a ruckus fighting over the boxes. I have two roosting boards above the poop board. I like to keep my nest on the ground because I let my chickens raise chicks once a year or so. They raise them in the coop with the other chickens, so I don’t worry about integration issues. My coop is 4 feet wide by about 8 feet a long and I usually keep about 8 to 10 chickens. They seem really happy with their coop, I know it’s a bit tight for that many chickens, but they only go in there to sleep and lay their eggs. I keep it really clean, no poop laying around except for in the morning before I throw out the newspaper. I have a piece of vinyl on top of the poop board so that moisture doesn’t seep into the wood and I keep the newspapers underneath the piece of vinyl just to have it handy. My coop also has an automatic chicken door that I set to open when the sun comes up and that way they can just go out to eat and drink as soon as they wak

Here’s a photo of my poop board, I have three nesting areas underneath and a couple more off to the side. I have heard people say that you don’t need that many nesting boxes, but mine use all of them and that way they don’t raise a ruckus fighting over the boxes. I have two roosting boards above the poop board. I like to keep my nest on the ground because I let my chickens raise chicks once a year or so. They raise them in the coop with the other chickens, so I don’t worry about integration issues. My coop is 4 feet wide by about 8 feet a long and I usually keep about 8 to 10 chickens. They seem really happy with their coop, I know it’s a bit tight for that many chickens, but they only go in there to sleep and lay their eggs. I keep it really clean, no poop laying around except for in the morning before I throw out the newspaper. I have a piece of vinyl on top of the poop board so that moisture doesn’t seep into the wood and I keep the newspapers underneath the piece of vinyl just to have it handy. My coop also has an automatic chicken door that I set to open when the sun comes up and that way they can just go out to eat and drink as soon as they wake up.

Cute curtains