Help with adding a roost

sunnie7

Crowing
8 Years
Joined
Oct 24, 2016
Messages
1,016
Reaction score
1,111
Points
306
Location
Southern Indiana
I have this tiny coop for my 4 bantams (one silkie) and it's going to have to make due until sometime this summer until we build a new coop. My chickens are 4 months old and have always slept in a pile in one of the nesting boxes. However during the day out in the run they love to roost. The coop came with two small roosts that pretty much sit right on top on the pull out tray and after putting in just a little shavings and straw In the nesting boxes after it all gets mixed up you can't even see the roosts. My issues are the floor is the removable tray so I can drill into that and then the side on the right is another door. Can you please give me advice on how I can build a roost for in here? My husband rigged this up today but I don't think it's going to work very great and I don't really like how it is. What size should I use because 2x4 just seems big and heavy for in this tiny thing. Or should I just keep letting them sleep huddle together on the floor in the nesting box?

400


400
 
Some of my chickens sleep in nest boxes, but they are elevated. The only problem with this is the chickens poop in them, which means I have to change the hay more often. I'm not fond of the chickens sleeping in the nest boxes, but I can't force them to roost. You could try putting an elevated roost in even though it wouldn't be very high and see if they use it, if not I would just let them sleep in the best box.
 
I have this tiny coop for my 4 bantams (one silkie) and it's going to have to make due until sometime this summer until we build a new coop. My chickens are 4 months old and have always slept in a pile in one of the nesting boxes. However during the day out in the run they love to roost. The coop came with two small roosts that pretty much sit right on top on the pull out tray and after putting in just a little shavings and straw In the nesting boxes after it all gets mixed up you can't even see the roosts. My issues are the floor is the removable tray so I can drill into that and then the side on the right is another door. Can you please give me advice on how I can build a roost for in here? My husband rigged this up today but I don't think it's going to work very great and I don't really like how it is. What size should I use because 2x4 just seems big and heavy for in this tiny thing. Or should I just keep letting them sleep huddle together on the floor in the nesting box?
You can do a roost similar to but smaller like this and it will work good.

 
What he made should work.....you probably don't actually use the slide out anyway do you?

Often the nests have to be covered to keep them from sleeping in them,
especially in a tiny coop like that.
Best to have roost at least a foot higher than nests.
Good to break them of the nest sleeping habit before they start laying.
Wouldn't be too hard to rig a hinged nest cover in there.
 
Some of my chickens sleep in nest boxes, but they are elevated. The only problem with this is the chickens poop in them, which means I have to change the hay more often. I'm not fond of the chickens sleeping in the nest boxes, but I can't force them to roost. You could try putting an elevated roost in even though it wouldn't be very high and see if they use it, if not I would just let them sleep in the best box.
We all have our ways and that's fine but myself---"I" would not allow them to roost in the nesting boxes. If I have young chicks I put in a pen---if they start roosting in the nesting boxes I remove them and put them on the roost with a dim light. After 2 or 3 nights they learn to get on the roost.
 
We all have our ways and that's fine but myself---"I" would not allow them to roost in the nesting boxes. If I have young chicks I put in a pen---if they start roosting in the nesting boxes I remove them and put them on the roost with a dim light. After 2 or 3 nights they learn to get on the roost.

I should probably start doing that, because it really annoys me.
barnie.gif
 
Do you have it attached at the top and the bottom??

Mine has a pipe through the top----see the rope closest to you---It goes through a pulley on the ceiling and I pull the rope---the roost goes up to the ceiling to get it out the way to make cleaning easier. The white thing against the wall is not needed but it keeps a lot of poop off the wall----I call it a poop guard.

So not attached to the floor.
 
Last edited:
I think what your husband made will work just fine. My first coop was small kind of like that one, I had 3SLW's in there, and the roosts provided did not work at all just like you described. I used a 4 x 4 or a branch and they were fine.
 
I have the same coop and had the same problem! I did not think a ladder roost would work due to the poop tray location.

Here is a thread I have pictures of what I did to change the roosts.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1134399/help-hens-roosting-in-nest-boxes

Overall, this change made the coop work for me, though I find they walk through the poop on the poop board before getting to the egg laying area. This causes previously laid eggs to get poop on them from the chicken feet, YUCK! There is no fixing that!

I also have decided this coop is not large enough for my 4 large birds and am planning on building one starting this weekend! They are pulling/eating feathers and just need more room. My original plan was to use this for sleeping at night and free range during the day. This coop would have been fine for 4 birds only at night, I think. I lost one chicken to a predator and decided I did not want to free range anymore. They are going crazy in the tight quarters :(

Jenn
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom