Bit if a dilemma here

[Logar]

See below

Now, they do say "Customization is Welcome." but I don't know if that would cost extra. If they can do some customization for a small fee I'd ask for a fixed floor (no pull out tray, no pull out door) and to drop the nests to the floor directly below where they're currently shown.

does sleeping in the nest box cause issues?

And the pull out floor is an extra $700 or so while an epoxy floor is only about $150. Definitely don’t want the pull out. And plus I would like to be able to get into the coop for cleaning or just for health checks and don’t trust it to support my weight and don’t want to take it out every time.

Would it be easier to just ask them to raise the roosting bar instead?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

there an issue if the nest boxes are that high? Sorry if it is a stupid question

There are no stupid questions here. How else will you learn? Chickens like to roost on the highest available surface. So you want your roosts high, nests low. Chickens poop at night so obvi you don't want them sleeping in the nests if you want clean eggs. Which you do!

 

[rosemarythyme]

does sleeping in the nest box cause issues?

Dirty eggs, or constantly needing to clean out the nests so you don't have dirty eggs.

Would it be easier to just ask them to raise the roosting bar instead?

What breeds do you have? Not all breeds can make it to a high roost without help, and you also need to consider landing space. If a roost is 48" high for example, they need more than 48" of landing space in front of the bar to land or they'll crash into the wall.

Raising the roost would also place it really close to level with the window which might be great on a hot summer day, but could be problematic in colder winter temperatures, when ventilation to prevent frostbite is still needed. It really depends on your wind direction and how the coop is oriented in comparison.

I just noticed they have extra ventilation pricing there as well. I'd opt for the ridge vent and maybe 1 gable vent?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yeah, definitely have them either lower the nests or find out what it would cost to eliminate that drop-down door and the interior nests, and add a nesting box to the outside of the coop below the roosting bar, with human access on the outside, like a hinged lid. You don't need 6 nesting boxes. For six hens, two would do just fine. They take turns and share.

 

[Logar]

There are no stupid questions here. How else will you learn? Chickens like to roost on the highest available surface. So you want your roosts high, nests low. Chickens poop at night so obvi you don't want them sleeping in the nests if you want clean eggs. Which you do!

Ok thanks! I was pretty sure that was why but I wasn’t sure so that bit of reassurance is super helpful.

I am a total reptile nerd so all this is just so strange with how different everything is. This community has been super helpful and I really appreciate it. I can’t wait to stick around for many more years and hopefully eventually be able to help someone new here like you guys are now. Thank you so much!

Now Back to the topic, I have been adding it all up and I think it is going to come out to around $3000 in total . Maybe I need to go back to the nice looking shed idea lol. If you know of any, I would love to know about them. Just for ummm… research

 

[rosemarythyme]

You don't need 6 nesting boxes. For six hens, two would do just fine. They take turns and share.

Good point. Maybe they'd give a discount if you axed the nest boxes completely and simply got a couple of milk crates or something and put them internally? It could save a few bucks and would fix the issue of high nests without extra cost, at the very least.

You would need to go in to collect eggs, but that's not the end of the world (I only say that since my nests are completely internal).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

On that model, raising the roosting bar is impractical. Look how high the access door to the nests is, is on the outside of the coop. It's just under the eaves. A roost above that would be so high your hens couldn't easily get to it, would be terribly hot if they did, and would be bumping their heads on the ceiling. This would make them grumpy, stressed and irritable and they'd be fussing at each other all the time. Not a good plan.

 

[Logar]

What breeds do you have?

2 Brahmas, a jersey giant, a bared rock, an Orpington, and a mystery chick.

But if they need however much space infront as it is high than that wouldn’t work

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Fixed typos. Sorry, got in a hurry.

 

[rosemarythyme]

2 Brahmas, a jersey giant, a bared rock, an Orpington, and a mystery chick.

But if they need however much space infront as it is high than that wouldn’t work

The giant breeds would struggle with a higher roost once they got larger and heavier. I don't have any but I've seen recommendations for roosts as low as 16-18" for large breeds.