Ok, so now that my girls are in the coop, they have decided that the lone center roof rafter is the best place to roost. I can't blame them really as there is some great ventilation up there.
I have two issues. (A) They also like to stand on the nest boxes roof to get up there and well, roost over the top of it. Now I could make a "dropping board" to hang under the roost in that area to keep the nest box roof clean, but I would miss the rest of the "roost" this way. (B) My other worry is that I plan to regulate the air flow with those eve vents after some closing flap doors are added. If the roost up here, come winter they will be close to my air flow and I worry it will be too cold (The large main vent facing the run will be closed with doors, maybe custom windows)
Now the height to that lower rafter is about three feet high so it is not a bad roost height. I could install hardware cloth to close in the roof area, but it would make it so much smaller inside. To date I have not made roosts inside the coop and I hate to loose more room inside if they just stub their beaks at it and roost up high anyway.
I could make a nest box with a longer overhang and with something other than the OSB to make it cleanable. I also do not have a roost in front of the nest boxes as they are less than a foot off the ground. (shaving bed)
What should I do?? Opinions welcome! They seem quite happy to be hanging around up there right now. I could modify the rafter and remove the center stud so they have an eaiser time roosting on the whole beam. The advantage of the metal roof is that it is so light the rafters need not be super strong.
PS, I "could" box in the rafter cavity maybe 24" up from the eve and install the closing flaps half way up the roof. This would bring the air inlet well above them and the ridge vent will exhaust the hot and humid air in the winter. In fact, it makes the flaps much easier to build as well!
I have two issues. (A) They also like to stand on the nest boxes roof to get up there and well, roost over the top of it. Now I could make a "dropping board" to hang under the roost in that area to keep the nest box roof clean, but I would miss the rest of the "roost" this way. (B) My other worry is that I plan to regulate the air flow with those eve vents after some closing flap doors are added. If the roost up here, come winter they will be close to my air flow and I worry it will be too cold (The large main vent facing the run will be closed with doors, maybe custom windows)
Now the height to that lower rafter is about three feet high so it is not a bad roost height. I could install hardware cloth to close in the roof area, but it would make it so much smaller inside. To date I have not made roosts inside the coop and I hate to loose more room inside if they just stub their beaks at it and roost up high anyway.
I could make a nest box with a longer overhang and with something other than the OSB to make it cleanable. I also do not have a roost in front of the nest boxes as they are less than a foot off the ground. (shaving bed)
What should I do?? Opinions welcome! They seem quite happy to be hanging around up there right now. I could modify the rafter and remove the center stud so they have an eaiser time roosting on the whole beam. The advantage of the metal roof is that it is so light the rafters need not be super strong.
PS, I "could" box in the rafter cavity maybe 24" up from the eve and install the closing flaps half way up the roof. This would bring the air inlet well above them and the ridge vent will exhaust the hot and humid air in the winter. In fact, it makes the flaps much easier to build as well!
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.... I've used it on both the floor and the roof of the box. I had a scrap of linoleum from and old "I think I'm going to paint a floor cloth on the back of it" phase (someday) and augmented it with very cheap clearance linoleum stick-on squares which stuck just fine on the OSB. Even if somebody poos on it it either slides off or dries and wipes off quickly. Thanks again BYC!
