Awkward roost layout

[rusty acres]

I have a question regarding how to keep chickens from pooping on each other when roosting at night. I tried to make the most of the space I have, while making sure there is space for nesting boxes in the roost area. As you can see from the photo, the highest roost bar overlaps some of the lower bars and although at the moment, I only have 2 chickens using it, I will eventually have 13 chickens roosting. I'm curious what others have done to maximize roost space while preventing poop mishaps. Thanks!

 

[Abriana]

I can get a pic of my coop roosts in the morning, mine works for over 15 birds (I only have 15 right now but I have had more in the past on this set up). You can get poop boards too.

 

[mechanic57]

I think the tier of roost bars takes up more room (floor space) than a traditional single bar. What I have is a single roost bar and beneath it I built a litter box that I fill with Sweet PDZ. It's a natural mineral that dries out the droppings. This keeps the smell down, which keeps the flies down, and make cleanup and composting with a cat litter scoop very easy. The space under the box can be used for storage or for nest boxes. The litter box is 24 inches from front to back and runs the length of the roost bar. The roost bar is centered over that and about 30 inches above it. The roost bar is 24" from the coop wall.

If you measure and plan something like that with an L shape, you maybe could use that same corner of the coop in the photo and create a more functional space.

 

[aart]

@Kelsey Rust Welcome to BYC!
What are the dimensions of your coop?

Agrees with @mechanic57

4' and 7'... presently roosting 25, some roost on boards or edge of boards.
ETA: there are also other roosts(10') available out of sight in this pic

 

[rusty acres]

@aart the coop is about 4x5 ft. I really appreciate pictures, it helps me to visualize what people are describing. Eventually, we are adding external nesting boxes, which will free up some space. If I had 2 bars going across long ways, that would be about 10 ft of space. I guess that would be plenty for 13 chickens?

 

[BYCforlife]

@aart the coop is about 4x5 ft. I really appreciate pictures, it helps me to visualize what people are describing. Eventually, we are adding external nesting boxes, which will free up some space. If I had 2 bars going across long ways, that would be about 10 ft of space. I guess that would be plenty for 13 chickens?

People normally recommend 1 foot per chicken, but I think they would be okay... Mine always use up less than half of my 10 foot long roost.

 

[aart]

@aart the coop is about 4x5 ft. I really appreciate pictures, it helps me to visualize what people are describing. Eventually, we are adding external nesting boxes, which will free up some space. If I had 2 bars going across long ways, that would be about 10 ft of space. I guess that would be plenty for 13 chickens?

4x5 is awfully way too small for 13 birds IMO....unless maybe you have a large, weather and predator proof run and live in a milder climate. There's a great article on Space by Ridgerunner link in my signature.


The '1' of roost length per bird' is a rule of thumb(def. a broadly accurate guide or principle) that does not always take into consideration variables that might exist.
If birds have to fly up to roosts they need more space to accommodate wing spread.
If you have a poop board 12" or less under roosts, you can get away with less length as they can navigate on the board and step up onto roosts as well as roost on the board itself(depending on configuration). That is why my 11' of roosts shown above can accommodate 25 birds...tho 11 of those are 15 weeks old and space is getting tight as they grow, 5-6 sleep on the 'cleaned every day' poop board. My flock population will be down to about 16 by the time winter hits.
Here they are when chicks were just 6-8 weeks old.

 

[aart]

pics oops fix

 

[Deano603]

Hey everyone, I have found myself in a bit of predicament as my brother and I built my coop with lean to design, 8'L x 6'W with the 2X4 braces running 4.5ft H around the length of the coop. As my chicks grew up, they began roosting on the 2x4 that runs the length of the coop horizontally. I have built nesting boxes on the back wall, and it is a large pain scraping poop off the roof of the nesting boxes that is falling from the 2x4 being roosted on above. I have tried shavings, newspaper(As you can see in the image isn't working), and diatomaceous earth on the roof of the nesting boxes to absorb the droppings for easier cleaning, but when the chickens are flying up or down 4ft to roost on these 2x4s, it all gets blown off and results in droppings straight on the roof above the nesting boxes. In the attached image, the 2x4 I'm referring to runs left to right above the nesting boxes. Any input on how I can cut down on the amount of maintenance with keeping up with the droppings?

 

[Big Daddy Dye]

A suggestion would be to nail or screw 1x3 boards on front and back of nesting boxes to form somewhat of a tray. Put a bag or two of "sweet PDZ" in it. So very easy to clean. Absorbs the moisture and smell and cuts down in flies. And very easy to clean. Are your chicks all grown up yet? How long will they fit on that 2x4?