Does anyone have a second level/floor in their run?

[dearmeghann]

Good morning! This new coop/run was a LABOR of love. It took us a month of full weekends, and we still have a bunch more to do. Thankfully, they're inside and seem to be loving it. Or at least appreciating it. Hand-fed treats are also a plus!!

Does anyone have a second level in their run? We want to create an extension that doesn't have a roof and set up grazing boards. But for the roofed run, we were looking into creating a second level at the end. Maybe put their dust bath under to protect from sideways rain.

Any inspiration you can share will be greatly appreciated!

Also, here's the inside of the coop. I'm in looooove!! Definitely DIY, but the ability to customize is such a plus! We plan on making even more storage/shelves. No more digging through a metal can outside in the rain, haha!!!

 

[McChooky]

If you added a ledge similar to the one above they could dust bath underneath it.

 

[thistlewick]

This is so freakin cute!!! just be aware that everything inside that coop will be soon *covered* in dust. That shelf, everything on it..

I could take pics of my 'storage shelf', cannot at all be arsed to 'dust' it, comes right back the next day.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have a big branch and a ladder. Not really a second floor, but both ladder and branch are very popular post-breakfast hangouts.

 

[Penpal]

I'd go with a roost that they can fly up to.

 

[perkolator]

I have a jungle gym of branches/roost bars added to my run. At first I did this to increase usable space when they were locked up all day, mostly because I had two roosters at the time and also the hens would fight in confinement. For this it did seem to work, I'd always see chickens up there during the daytime hanging out.

As an unforeseen consequence, those overhead roost bars now became the preferred sleeping area and nobody's slept inside the actual coop since then. Fine to me, the run is secure, but had I known this before I designed and built my coop I'd just have made it an open air coop/secure run with roost bars

IMG_3874.jpg

• perkolator
• Jun 29, 2022
• 2

Newly reconfigured branches inside coop - much easier for chickens to get around

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

As an unforeseen consequence, those overhead roost bars now became the preferred sleeping area and nobody's slept inside the actual coop since then. Fine to me, the run is secure, but had I known this before I designed and built my coop I'd just have made it an open air coop/secure run with roost bars

This is exactly what happened to me years ago! I now have NO MORE roosts in our large run. We don't have the weather that tolerates my ladies roosting outdoors more than 4 months of the year, plus I love that I can now walk fully around my run without climbing over or ducking under roosts. Yours is beautiful though!

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

Does anyone have a second level in their run? ...for the roofed run, we were looking into creating a second level at the end. Maybe put their dust bath under to protect from sideways rain.

View attachment 4092244

I love the cabinet! What a roomy coop. Regarding the run, a second level can be a good idea if your run is tall enough. We have a large, open, 6-7 foot tall run and no way would I want to divide it unless it's just a shallow shelf, mainly because I'd be the one crawling into that area to retrieve a hen or egg whenever it's needed.

Half of our main coop (about 8' tall) is divided in half and getting into the 4-foot tall area is messy and difficult. I have it set up as a brooder for pullets when they graduate from the infant chick brooder, but otherwise I keep the door to that area closed. Hens think it's the perfect quiet spot to lay eggs, and I'm no longer allowing those shenanigans. My middle-aged knees thank me, plus hunching down while trying to deal with chickens and avoid chicken poo (below) and spider webs (above) is never a fun activity.