Can you place roosting bars over the nest boxes?

[skylavaulter]

I have an 8x4 coop. The three nest boxes take up four feet of a long wall. Can I run roosting bars overhead of the nesting boxes across the short wall? I can't figure out where else to place them the other end of the coop has the pop door, window and my access door so there's no good place there. But since the nest boxes take up the other half end of the coop on one wall, they're going to be right under the roosting bars.

You can see one bar already in place in the picture. There would basically be two more above the nest boxes in the same direction as that one (so three bars all spaced about 1 and a 1/2 feet apart.

(Don't mind the hinges on the outside on the short wall. We were going to have that whole side open up but changed our minds and made the access door in the other end. Looking back, we should've kept it there!)

 

[tasha-kitty]

I think the problem is keeping the poop out of the nesting boxes. Poop really piles up under the roosting areas. Maybe with a plastic or metal tray to collect the poop? Something moisture proof. And it needs to be wide enough that hens trying to get to the nesting boxes don't have to walk under other roosting/pooping chickens.

 

[jetdog]

Cover the top of the nest boxes so nothing can fall in, add a poop board with sweet pdz in it,have your egg collection door hinge down on the back vertical part of the boxes

 

[T-Rock]

I think the problem is keeping the poop out of the nesting boxes. Poop really piles up under the roosting areas. Maybe with a plastic or metal tray to collect the poop? Something moisture proof. And it needs to be wide enough that hens trying to get to the nesting boxes don't have to walk under other roosting/pooping chickens.

Thats a great idea if you want to put a roost over the nesting boxes. The coop i own piles up with poop right under the roost and i have to clean it out at least ounce a week (Not Fun!!!!!!) I do think its a cool idea but you should definitely put chicken wire ore a sort of wire to collect the poop. Have fun and good luck!

 

[skylavaulter]

Ok so here is what I came up with. Let me know if this is ok please! That piece of plywood is going to extend the whole width of the coop and will become a poop platform. I will place trays on it that will be able to be slid out from the nesting box access door outside (on the left in the photo). I can just lift the access door and pull the trays out, dump them, and slide them back into place. The 2x4 above the plywood is a roosting bar. There will be two more spaced about 18 inches apart. What do you think? This makes the nesting area underneath pretty dark and secluded. Not sure if that will be a problem or a good thing for the hens. Anything you would change?

 

[jetdog]

Ok so here is what I came up with. Let me know if this is ok please! That piece of plywood is going to extend the whole width of the coop and will become a poop platform. I will place trays on it that will be able to be slid out from the nesting box access door outside (on the left in the photo). I can just lift the access door and pull the trays out, dump them, and slide them back into place. The 2x4 above the plywood is a roosting bar. There will be two more spaced about 18 inches apart. What do you think? This makes the nesting area underneath pretty dark and secluded. Not sure if that will be a problem or a good thing for the hens. Anything you would change?

Looks better, I will say make your poop board with a lip so you can fill with sweet pdz or something similar, I sift with a cat litter scoop and dump the poop,keeps the cost down instead of dumping it all out and greatly reduces the smell.

 

[skylavaulter]

Yes I forgot to add that I was planning on adding Pdz as well. Will the nest boxes be ok under the plywood area? It's turning into a cave lol!

I could do a U shaped platform with a roosting bar along all three walls. That way there would be a little light filtering down underneath. But then I couldn't clean it by just sliding trays out from the nesting box door. I can't make up my mind!!!

 

[jetdog]

Yes they will love it I have 3 nest boxes and most of the time they use the farthest one from the window,they like to feel safe in a secluded corner, you'll probably find the same to be true.