designing coop interior for XL birds

[KSH1]

I've ordered 12 standard/large birds and 3 each of Brahmas and Jersey Giants. I keep reading that roosts should be higher than nest boxes by at least 12", but I'm also reading that roosts for those big girls shouldn't be any higher than 18", and I don't think 6" tall nest boxes are going to be ideal. Does anyone have any tips specific to designing a layout that will be safe and comfortable for them? Thanks!

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

My Brahma roosts 8 feet up in the rafters other times she roosts 4 feet up

 

[Tooshay89]

I have mostly Orpingtons, which are quite large as well, and they roost as high as they possibly can. In my coop, I have two roost bars, one about 4 feet up and a second one around 6-6.5 feet up. ALL of my birds except for one lone orpington on the bottom of the pecking order choose to roost on the higher bar. A couple of orps actually hopped from the lowest roost bar at 4 feet all the way on top of a storage shelf about 9 feet high (before I figured it out and blocked it off with hardware cloth - haha!) I had NO idea they could even get up there, but alas, they could! They will totally be fine with roost bars above 2 feet. If you're worried about it, provide a little half step to help them up.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I have an ostrich that roosts up in the... ok not really...

.... so I think the general recommendation would be to give them things to get up on to help them up to the higher perch... but keep those “steps” at 18 inches or less.

 

[blackdog043]

I use a poop board. They jump up from the nest box or go up what was their temporary roost, that I leaned against the board. They come down the same way.

 

[aart]

I've ordered 12 standard/large birds and 3 each of Brahmas and Jersey Giants. I keep reading that roosts should be higher than nest boxes by at least 12", but I'm also reading that roosts for those big girls shouldn't be any higher than 18", and I don't think 6" tall nest boxes are going to be ideal. Does anyone have any tips specific to designing a layout that will be safe and comfortable for them? Thanks!

Depends on how much space they have to fly down. I put in ramps for my big birds(brahmas at the time),and also changed the nest perch from 2x2 to 2x4, they appreciated it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

 

[123RedBeard]

It's not just the "getting up" issue ... chickens are good "jumpers" ...

But they also need room to come down ... they have wings to assist, but ... do they have enough room to use them inside the coop??? Ramps can help in "walk up/down" ... if they (chickens) are so inclined ...

How soft is the landing area?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I put my roosts at 24". ALL my roosts are that low.
I keep Brahma and giant cochin among my more reasonably sized breeds.

The big gals definitely need some serious landing space when coming off the roost.

 

[Acre4Me]

We also have Black Jersey Giants (BJG). My BJG rooster is almost 11 lbs, just turned 1 year old and is expected to grow to 13lbs or larger. As a caution, I would suggest that you not use the wide side of a 2x4 for their roosts. Use a branch or the narrow side of a 2x4 because the weight of a large bird seems to have a higher likelihood of causing a breast blister. Here is my thread on my recent problem with my BJG:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-this-scabby-enlarged-thing-on-roos-chest.1292202/

The breeder (with decades of experience), also indicated that the breast blister was caused by the wide roost. So, we turned them to the narrow side. In the thread, you'll see many pictures, including the roosts turned to the narrow side with the birds on the roosts, including their feet fully covered by their bodies/feathers.

The wide roosts are not typically going to cause problems for smaller/lighter birds, but the weight size and shape of my BJG was not a good combination with the wide roosts. Keep in mind, the BJG is one of the largest and heaviest breeds of chickens.

According to APA, here are the breeds with standard weights at 10lbs or above for a full grown Cock (Rooster), so only a few breeds get really big:

BJG Cock standard weight: 13 lbs

Brahma Cock standard weight: 12 lbs

Cochin Cock standard weight: 11 lbs

Cornish Cock standard weight: 10.5 lbs

Orpington Cock standard weight: 10 lbs


Nest Boxes: ours are at floor level, and are about 16" wide. Cant remember the height, but over 12". BJG lays fine in these boxes. We also have one kitty litter bucket as a nest box. On its side, so they have the height to stand - but, BJG does not use this nest box, probably too narrow. But several of our birds use this one.

Good Luck, and enjoy your birds!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

We also have Black Jersey Giants (BJG). My BJG rooster is almost 11 lbs, just turned 1 year old and is expected to grow to 13lbs or larger. As a caution, I would suggest that you not use the wide side of a 2x4 for their roosts. Use a branch or the narrow side of a 2x4 because the weight of a large bird seems to have a higher likelihood of causing a breast blister. Here is my thread on my recent problem with my BJG:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-this-scabby-enlarged-thing-on-roos-chest.1292202/

The breeder (with decades of experience), also indicated that the breast blister was caused by the wide roost. So, we turned them to the narrow side. In the thread, you'll see many pictures, including the roosts turned to the narrow side with the birds on the roosts, including their feet fully covered by their bodies/feathers.

The wide roosts are not typically going to cause problems for smaller/lighter birds, but the weight size and shape of my BJG was not a good combination with the wide roosts. Keep in mind, the BJG is one of the largest and heaviest breeds of chickens.

According to APA, here are the breeds with standard weights at 10lbs or above for a full grown Cock (Rooster), so only a few breeds get really big:

BJG Cock standard weight: 13 lbs

Brahma Cock standard weight: 12 lbs

Cochin Cock standard weight: 11 lbs

Cornish Cock standard weight: 10.5 lbs

Orpington Cock standard weight: 10 lbs


Nest Boxes: ours are at floor level, and are about 16" wide. Cant remember the height, but over 12". BJG lays fine in these boxes. We also have one kitty litter bucket as a nest box. On its side, so they have the height to stand - but, BJG does not use this nest box, probably too narrow. But several of our birds use this one.

Good Luck, and enjoy your birds!

What about a RIR. My Randy is pretty big and he is only 10 months old, should I expect him to be significantly larger? I'm doing the measurements to improve the roosts in my coop. I may not need to use the hinged ladder style, but I definitely want to incorporate poop boards. I had not thought of going too much higher than the nest boxes, but from Aart's setup, that looks like a good use of space.