How far does the roosting bar need to be from the wall?

[Dooner]

Also, how much room do they need under the poop tray to walk around under it. Trying to space things out. Should anything not be next to anything else, like the nest boxes should not be by...? Or what should not be by the pop door?

 

[BlueBetween]

the roost should be higher than the nest boxes... and I have not figured out distance from the wall for my roost yet. But my plan is poop deck (droppings board!) above my pop door, roost above that... room to walk under all that stuff. I'm looking forward to an answer for distance... I'm guessing 8 or so inches from the wall - room for a head or a tail depending on who wants to sit facing which way.

 

[annaraven]

Just be aware with the poop boards - the chickens will roost *both* directions (ie. both facing the wall and facing the room) so don't just have the poop board on one side... (Like I did the first time

)

Given that, think about how long your chickens are - nose to tail. Leave at least half of that length between the roost and the wall. In any case, I wouldn't go closer than say 6-8 inches or so...

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I think about a 12 - 18" from the wall, depending on the room you have. Then if you are really pressed for space, I'm thinking at least 18" to walk under the poop board. Mine walk under the poop board (which sits a few inches under the roost) to get into the nest box which is mounted externally. I have a very small coop, so had a lot of space considerations as well. Also, I don't keep food and water in the coop...it's out in the run, as they don't need it at night. That frees up floor space.

 

[Nurs4kids]

I feel like such an idiot!

Just got them yesterday and I've been trying to figure out WHY my hens will not roost IN the coop--they prefer the roost in the corner of the run. DUH! I bet there isn't four inches between the coop roost and the wall!

Poor babies

I'm going to bed now so I can get them a suitable roost in the coop before I go to work tomorrow! Thanks guys (and my hens thank you even more!)!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Putting the roost 18" from the wall works well. If you put in more than one, put the next one 12" away, horizontally and vertically, if you put it at an angle. This keeps them from pooping on the wall or each other.

 

[Marshchick]

New to BYC.... and have already found lots of great advice.

We have 12 chicks, various breeds and between 5 -7 weeks old. Coop is almost finished and I have a couple questions. How high off the floor do the roosts go?

Thanks!

 

[wsdareme]

Quote:
The best answer is....higher than the nest boxes.

Seriously, make them as high as possible yet still accessible by ramp or flying up. The reason for making the roosts higher than the nest boxes is that chickens want to roost at the highest possible height in order to feel safe at night, and if the nest boxes are higher they'll roost and poop in those. Also, make sure there is enough room for the chickens to fly down off the roost without crashing into a wall. The higher the roosts, the more flight space they'll need.

 

[darkmatter]

I can answer this question-------"How far does the roosting bar need to be from the wall?" (cause I did it wrong the first time)

See my BYC page for pics of my Coop, you can see the ladder style roost I made that pivots up to allow me to shovel out the deep litter compost results once a year. When I first built it, the roosting bars went all the way up the ladder to within a foot of the back wall.---------------------I quickly learned that chickens like to poop while roosting, the deep litter works for that, the back wall didn't. Well, I suppose it did work, just not very eye appealing to see the multi-colored streaks running down the wall. So I removed the top roost bar and now the closest bar is about 18 inches from the wall.

 

[Alexis]

Never seems to fail that no matter what you make or create for your chickens, they will always come up with something they like better. Ungrateful creatures!

We fashioned a ladder of sorts, out of long cedar poles (they were very old, and had been sitting around with no use!). It leans up against the wall from the floor to about 6+ feet high, with a rung about every 15-18 inches. It sits at a less than a 45 degree angle so they aren't pooping on each other. Most of the chickens roost there now - they prefer the top three levels to the bottom ones of course, and will often fight over who gets the top rung. But there are always the rule breakers - the ones who snub the roost altogether, and prefer to spend their nights on the edges of the 2x6 beams to the rear of the building that are 7 feet up. They are only about 1-2 inches from the wall. I have no idea how they get there, or how they stay on there, but they do!