Big Green Hen House: Modification Recommendations?

[sylviethecochin]

Do you find that having an additional next box accessible directly from the run is helpful?

I believe that @jthornton is recommending that set-up because hens like to sleep on the highest available surface. (correct me if I'm wrong) So long as the roosts are positioned high enough that the hens aren't tempted to sleep (and poop) in there, I would think the current setup would be fine.

If you're thinking about any major modifications, I'd be more interested in being able to get into the henhouse itself, especially for cleaning and possibly for catching the chickens. (Mine's designed like a shed, and I like it that way.) There are few things less dignified than having your bum poking out the back while you twist around and try to reach that one stubborn pullet... In short, I'd enlarge the door. Or make the whole wall away from the run into a door. But that seems like a very involved project.

 

[sylviethecochin]

After the 4x4 post frame was leveled, I left a layer of stone in the run area, and then covered that stone with few inches of a mix of dirt and pebbles. My hope was to keep the soil in the run porous enough to allow incidental water to drain away easily.

This photo was taken of the chicks on a play day, but it shows the ground coverage:
View attachment 1355201

Good idea on the porosity, but please tell me that those aren't standard-sized chicks.

 

[grohfrog]

Good idea on the porosity, but please tell me that those aren't standard-sized chicks.

Yeah... we won't be keeping all of them. We got a mail-order batch that came with several spares. We have a neighbor down the street that will be taking our extras once they're old enough to integrate with his adult flock.

 

[jthornton]

Alright, here's a photo of the roost bars (taken through one of the next boxes):
View attachment 1355169

And a shot of the front of the coop from inside the run, showing the ramp door and the second, larger door:
View attachment 1355171

The roost bars do sit up off of the floor pan. Also, I can't imagine it would be too difficult to cut in some more ventilation and staple in welded wire, especially on the side facing in to the run. I'll have to pick up a roll of welded wire and will just lay it over the top of the chicken wire that's already in place.

Do you find that having an additional next box accessible directly from the run is helpful? Perhaps I just build another nest box and put it down in the run?

When chickens go to the roost they want to roost up high as it feels safe to them. When the roost and the nest box are on the same level they will roost and poop in the nest box. Move the nest box to the run and make it lower than the floor of the coop and they will only lay eggs in the nest box. Read about stack up here.

Here you can see I've moved my Roll Out Nest Box Mk3 to the run and lowered it so no one wants to roost in the nest box.



Here you can see that before I learned about stack up I had placed my nest boxes in the worst possible place, higher than the roosts. Fortunately I was able to correct it before the pullets started to lay.



Coop ventilation needs to be above their heads so no draft hits them. Your quite a bit farther north than me so proper breeze free ventilation is very important in the winter months to keep them from having frostbite on their combs and waddles. If you can remove the siding from the gable in the run (the part under the roof) and replace it with some hardware cloth it should be ok.

Here you can see another rookie mistake, I should have made the overhang a bit longer and put hardware cloth in the area marked. I plan on fixing that error this summer.


I used to have pine chips in my roost box (I used to call it a coop but it's too small and poorly designed so they only roost in it) then I switched to Sweet PDZ and clean up is so much easier now. Once you try PDZ you will never put pine chips under the roost again. Tractor Supply and Rural King have PDZ.

JT

 

[aart]

Here's one of the best roost/nest mods on a prefab I've ever seen:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1134399/help-hens-roosting-in-nest-boxes/10#post_17749535

 

[Finnie]

Or make the whole wall away from the run into a door

I would be very interested in how to go about doing a modification like this.

My TSC has this coop on sale right now for a great price. I could use it for a breeding or grow-out pen. They even have one built on display that I have been eyeballing for a long time. But what stopped me from buying one is that there is NO access for cleaning inside the coop. You could reach through the two nest boxes on either side as far as your arm can reach, and you could try to squeeze in the small door on the back to clean part of the inside. But that leaves a ton of areas (including the far perch) unreachable.

I am disappointed that this problem is a deal breaker for me. I so want to buy this coop!

 

[Finnie]

Ohhhh, the wheels are turning! @jthornton 's suggestion of relocating the nest boxes jogged an idea. Access doors could be fashioned to cover where the nests were supposed to go...

Oh boy, now I need to go back to TSC and see if my arms could reach to the center if I did that!

 

[imnukensc]

I wouldn't move/remove the nest boxes. What I would do is raise the roosting bars about 18 inches higher and keep the nest boxes closed off until your hens are near point of lay. I might keep one nest box closed off completely and use the other for feed and supplies. I would also add more ventilation as been suggested.

 

[aart]

My TSC has this coop on sale right now for a great price.

Which one is it?
You'd probably have to add some framing with, say, 2x2's.

 

[jthornton]

I wouldn't move/remove the nest boxes. What I would do is raise the roosting bars about 18 inches higher and keep the nest boxes closed off until your hens are near point of lay. I might keep one nest box closed off completely and use the other for feed and supplies. I would also add more ventilation as been suggested.

In a coop like that if you raise the roost(s) up higher than the nest box then your chickens are bumping their heads on the roof and directly in line with the vent that needs to be added. It's just not practical to have the nest box in a coop that is only 30" high.

JT