Hello all, I'm doing a shed conversion and I'm stuck right from the get-go! Trouble is, I keep reading all the posts, and everyone has their own ideas about what works for them, but now I've got so many ideas in my head I don't know what to do to make it right!
First of all I read up on poop boards with PDZ and that sounds like a must-have! One of the posts described the PDZ as "like flour," so at the store when the clerk asked if I wanted powder or granular, I selected powder. Now I've read a post where someone said the powder kind can hurt a chicken's respiratory system. Could anyone share their opinion on this question?
Second question...I'm so confused about roost height. I planned to install two 2x4s for the roosts, they will each be 6' long which I thought would be plenty of room for 8 chickens even if they all insist on being on the same roost. My shed is shaped weird...I think they call it a Dutch barn shape...the roof is a modified curve so the ceiling pitch (on the inside) starts a little lower than it would if the shed had a normal roof. I placed the first (higher) roost at the highest point possible so that my girls wouldn't be bumping their heads on the ceiling...it's about 54" high. I want to install the second roost a bit lower so that they can use it like a step to get to the higher roost. But I can't decide how high (how low) it should go. Again, I need some opinions!
Last question, and this is a bit off-topic...how do I get my girls to recognize this shed as their new home (assuming I can get it done!) Right now my 3 older girls are living in a smaller coop with an attached run, but I let them out to free range in my yard every day. When they move to the new coop/shed, I have 5 babies in the house that need to be outside the sooner the better...lol...and they will be moving into the old coop/run with no free range until they are old enough. I don't want my older girls distressed when they can't get into their old coop at night! Should I keep them confined to their new home for a few days...a few weeks...??
As always I appreciate anyone who can offer some advice!!
First of all I read up on poop boards with PDZ and that sounds like a must-have! One of the posts described the PDZ as "like flour," so at the store when the clerk asked if I wanted powder or granular, I selected powder. Now I've read a post where someone said the powder kind can hurt a chicken's respiratory system. Could anyone share their opinion on this question?
Second question...I'm so confused about roost height. I planned to install two 2x4s for the roosts, they will each be 6' long which I thought would be plenty of room for 8 chickens even if they all insist on being on the same roost. My shed is shaped weird...I think they call it a Dutch barn shape...the roof is a modified curve so the ceiling pitch (on the inside) starts a little lower than it would if the shed had a normal roof. I placed the first (higher) roost at the highest point possible so that my girls wouldn't be bumping their heads on the ceiling...it's about 54" high. I want to install the second roost a bit lower so that they can use it like a step to get to the higher roost. But I can't decide how high (how low) it should go. Again, I need some opinions!
Last question, and this is a bit off-topic...how do I get my girls to recognize this shed as their new home (assuming I can get it done!) Right now my 3 older girls are living in a smaller coop with an attached run, but I let them out to free range in my yard every day. When they move to the new coop/shed, I have 5 babies in the house that need to be outside the sooner the better...lol...and they will be moving into the old coop/run with no free range until they are old enough. I don't want my older girls distressed when they can't get into their old coop at night! Should I keep them confined to their new home for a few days...a few weeks...??
As always I appreciate anyone who can offer some advice!!