How can I improve this roost?

saysfaa

Free Ranging
6 Years
Jul 1, 2017
3,693
11,895
561
Upper Midwest, USA
The end of the roost has been the preferred roosting spot since they were blocked from sleeping on top of the walls. After several weeks of contending for it, Mocha took to roosting on the 1x4 edge of the poop board instead of on the roost pole at all. About a month ago, Pepper joined her.

I don't like how close the end of the roost is to the wire interior wall of the coop because they hit their wing feathers on the wire quite often.

I don't like them on the end because there is a 2x4 brace from front to back on the inside of the poop board at each end. It is hard to keep the pdz/sand deep enough over that brace that the poops don't stick to the brace. Or freeze to it in the winter.

I don't like Pepper and Mocha on the top of the 1x4 because I want them on a wider roost. And because they poop on the 2x4 brace. And they probably get pooped on by Nutmeg although I don't see much evidence of that.

The best option might be to cut off the end of the roost pole and build a different support for that end of the roost. Then block off where Mocha and Pepper are. But what kind of support?

A mini sawhorse under it will cake up with poop, won't it?

Maybe a beam from the back wall to a post added to the front? Would that be better that a rod from the ceiling through the roost pole? and maybe the poop board too

Any better ideas?

Or try to gouge out most of the 2x4 brace. It doesn't do much bracing now that it is installed. That seems likely to be a lot harder to do than it sounds.

Nutmeg (the brown hen) nearly always sleeps facing the other way than in the picture. She is resettling herself after I disturbed them.
 

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Mocha and Pepper squish themselves into a 1 foot wide space - you can't see the back wall very well in the picture. I don't much like them rubbing the wall/post, either.
 
Could you simply clamp a piece of cardboard to block it until their habits change?
Thank you!

I really needed help getting out of the mindset that I need to rebuild it with a permanent solution.

This is what I fixed up this morning... these are the yard bags with leaves.
 

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I meant to go out to watch them figure it out. But life happened. They seem to have accepted it well enough. I like it much better.

They are looking down because they are thinking about hopping down to see what I brought. It isn't because they are unhappy.
 

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