Cons of this inside design?

[GranolaJoe]

This looks like a simple enough interior design. Can some of you experienced folks comment on any cons to this design. I am very interested in copying this idea. Thanks!

 

[vehve]

Cleaning poop from under perches might be a bit inconvenient. The nestboxes eat up a considerable amount of space. Perches look a bit low. Oh, and the floor could do with some sort of protection. I was considering a similar construction at first, but I decided to just go with easily cleanable plastic on the floor for an easier build. If there's a solid floor under the drawer I'm guessing over time it will start getting stuck as more and more bedding falls in there.

*Edit* Oh, I missed the experienced part, don't have much of that with chickens yet, but I'm good at being a pessimist =P

 

[yyz0yyz0]

depending on the number of birds, it "might" be workable especially if you make modifications to the design.

I would switch the perches to the door side for easier cleaning and go with outside next boxes if I was going to use that design. Given that, it doesn't appear to be an optimal design from my experience.

 

[GranolaJoe]

Quote:
I'm curious why you say that. If I build it 4x4 with the nest box inside, what is the difference if I build it 4x3 and put the nest boxes on the outside? And, why would the perches be easier to clean on the door side if the floor slides out? Or are you talking about the perches themselves? I planned on making those with the ability to lift out. Planning on 4 birds, BTW. Sorry, I'm not questioning your opinion, just making sure I understand what you are saying and what you've experienced. Thanks a ton.

 

[vehve]

Quote: Or build it 4x4 with the boxes on the outside. The bigger the better.

The place where most of the poop accumulates inside the coop is right under the perches. You can of course always slide out the whole bottom to clean it on a daily basis, but it will probably save you a ton of work to just open the doors and scoop it from there. The rest of the coop requires less frequent maintenance. That's way it would be most convenient to have easy access to both the eggs and the underside of the perches. Oh and if you're going to have food and water in there, that should be easily accessible too.