almost finished with coop. need advice on roosts

[Ridgerunner]

That looks pretty nice. I think it will work fine for six hens since they will have access outside.

I'm not sure where you are located. My main concern would be in the summer if you are in a hot climate, but more ventilation above the chickens in the winter does not hurt. Chickens can handle cold much better than heat as long as they have adequate ventilation and are not in a direct draft. That means in the winter, the ventilation needs to all be above their heads when they are sleeping.

In the summer, you can provide more ventilation above, at the same level, or below the chickens when they are sleeping so they can stay cooler. I don't know if you can open your window in the summer, but that would be nice. That poop door will be open during the day too, winter or summer, so that will be a big plus in the summer, but you might want to close it in the winter at night. Open in the winter during the daytime should not be a problem. I like the way it opens up for easier cleaning.

Do you plan on having bedding on the floor? If so, you might want a lip at the openings to keep the bedding from being scratched out. A removeable lip would be real handy for cleaning.

If you will have bedding, you might want to raise your nest boxes some to keep them up out of it. Otherwise, they might scratch a lot of the bedding into the nests. That's probably not a big deal unless the bedding has fairly fresh poop in it. Of course, if you raise your nest boxes, you need to raise your roosts.

Another potential issue with your nest boxes is that the chickens cannot get under there. That could become a great place for Mommy Mouse to raise her family and stay close to the chicken feed. If you don't have bedding it probably won't be an issue, but you might want to consider fixing it to eliminate the possiblity of a mouse. In that coop, I'm not sure you could raise it enough to allow the chickens access. If the chickens can get to them, they'll eat the mouse and her babies, so I try to always provide them access.

It probably sounds like I'm being critical. I don't mean it that way at all. I think you did a great job. You probably have enough ventilation, but I'd suggest if you are where it is really hot in the summer, you pay close attention to that. The mice and the trash in the nest boxes at a low level, well, I've had experiences with those. That does not mean you will. It is just a possiblility you might want to be on the lookout for.

Good luck!!!

 

[ericz]

thanks ridgerunner (and everybody else too). the window swings out for summer ventilation, and there is hardware cloth behind it to keep things out. i thought i had a picture of it open but i guess i forgot to take one. but it hangs suspended from chains when open. will stick almost straight out.

there will be pine shavings in the floor, and i was just this morning showing my wife how i was going to put in removable boards to keep the shavings from falling out the door.

headroom, or lack threof, keeps me from raising the roosts any more than they are, so i need to keep the nest boxes lower. if i raise the roosts too much higher, the chickens' heads will be in the ventilation cross-breeze. i won't be keeping food inside, so hopefully mice will not be as much of a problem.

thanks again everybody for your replies!

 

[oldchickenlady]

My poop board is a 24"x 8' piece of plywood that is about 8" lower than the roost. It is centered under the roost so there is 12" of poop board both in front and in back of the roost. That way it doesn't matter which direction the chicken is sitting on the roost. It will catch the poop and you can just rake it off into a bucket or pail with a hoe or garden trowel. It cuts down on the smell and makes your shavings last longer. Some people put linoleum on it or paint it, but I left mine bare and just sprinkle shavings on it. About once or twice I week I clean it off and throw the poo on my compost pile. My new coop has 2 drop down doors across the whole back of the coop so I can clean the poop boards and not have to go into the coop. You might consider cutting some more windows on the two side walls for more cross ventilation. You could cover them with plexiglass for now, then next summer take that off and put up hardware cloth. I did that on the back wall of my coop. The top half is two plexiglass windows and the bottom half is 2 drop down doors for cleaning. I took some pic with my phone but don't know how to upload pics from my phone.

 

[ericz]

Quote:
i want to leave enough room under the roosts for the chickens to walk under on their way to the nest boxes, and also for clearance as they go in and out the door.

i did indeed take the advice to put down a linoleum floor.

i think i will put some kind of adjustable / closeable vents on each end near the top... maybe a heating register or something like that? i have til next spring to figure out exactly how i will do it, but it's a great idea.

thanks!