Droppings board - how wide?

[nappy501]

Quote:
Hi,

I have four hens. The chicken house is a converted doghouse at 4 foot by 4 foot.

The nesting box is in there. The food and water are hanging and the perch. Now I want to put the ramp in, it all seems a little crowded.

I don't think they will roost on the ramp as it is where the perch used to be opposite the door and they really don't seem to like that side. I think maybe there is a draught.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

Mine is 3 feet wide shelf with the roost over it ((I never made a board)) I just cover with news paper & change it every few days!!

If only I made my others like this

those I have to shovel out!

 

[dftkarin]

I have a 3x5 foot coop with a 3' roost 18" away from one end (opposite the pop door) and just today I screwed in littlw pieces of wood so I can slide a droppings board in and out 2" underneath the roost. I am not sure which direction the birds will sleep but it seems like their poop could fall up to 6" away from the roost, so I suppose I'll need a droppings board that is at least 12-14 inches wide? Does that sound right? I have large heavy breed chickens but I would prefer to use as small a droppings board as I can get away with. My coop is so small and the board will make it feel smaller still.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

nappy501
can you post a picture?
is there anyway you can put food & water in run?

dftkarin
how many chickens do you have & what kind are they?

 

[Sylvie]

I am also thinking of droppings boards. My roosts are caddy cornered and in tiered heights. A bin under each one would be a challenge to remove without dragging my shirt across the lower roosts to get to the higher ones. I am considering an old sink countertop to place under the entire roost area. It would be very smooth and easy to scrape. I'd ideally like to have it on tracks to simply pull out and scrape. We'll see if DH thinks that's do-able.

 

[BeardedChick]

Mine is 24". I made it extra wide so I could put nest boxes underneath and not have them poopy. It's working really well.

ETA:
linky to pics of mine: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=100477&p=1

 

[dftkarin]

In response to the question above: I have 4 hens, 2 barred rocks, an australorp and a wyandotte - all standard sized. Do you have any idea about how far from their roost their poop might fall?

 

[AtRendeAcres]

dftkarin

if you have a 3' x 5' & your roost is 3'
((I can't see 4 birds being confortable n that roost))


roost should be 18" from wall with those breeds

I think I would put the roost across the 5' side (so everyone fits & there is no pecking when locked in or bad weather)
Stop problems before they have happen!

under the roost I would make a 24 - 30" shelf
under shelf I would put nest boxes - under othside you could put food or water!

put your removable dropping board on shelf
& they will have a foot & half to walk around were you can through scratch to keep them busy!

Just my thoughts
I hope I have help somewhat

it is har with out seeing!

 

[dftkarin]

RChicks, thanks for your suggestions. I will rethink the current set-up. I read that standard hens could roost with 8" per bird - so at that rate my 4 girls might be okay with my 36" roost. I could change it to go the long way but the way my ventilation is set up, there will be draughts on one end of the roost if it goes the long way. The roost is 18" away from the wall (although I'm not sure why it had to be, they hardly hang 18" over the roost no matter which way they face). I will look into adding more roost space - or reconfiguring it. Thanks for your help. I still want to use a droppings board that is as narrow as it can be while still catching most of the night time poop - I guess I'll have to experiment.