How to make good use of vertical space in coop?

[aart]

Do you have any trouble with wasps getting through your hardware cloth and making nests?

No, I have not.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Those small coops do have challenges, not always apparent ones. There is always a learning curve with any coop. Things usually don't work out exactly as you think they will or should. Personal preferences come into play too.

Your specific question was about using height so I'll use these photos. The top one is my built-in brooder under the main roosts. The top of the brooder acts as a droppings board. The other one shows my nests with a juvenile roost over them. This is a case where things did not work out as planned and I added a juvenile roost. Anyway the top of my nests act as a droppings board. as poorly designed as that is. To save space you might feed and water under your droppings board. Just some things to consider.

A droppings board should cover the area about 12" either side of your roosts and your roosts should be a minimum of 12" from your wall. In a small coop like yours that is a fair amount of space.

I agree with Aart, the higher the roosts the more clear landing area they need. In your place I would build two nests and keep them pretty low. Make your roost higher than anywhere you don't want then to sleep, such as your nests, but make them as low as reasonable.

My personal preference is to walk into the area where the chickens are to gather eggs, feed, and do all that. There can be legitimate reasons to collect the eggs from outside, but I'm going in to feed and water anyway. Plus I've found a few snakes, a dead chicken, and even once a live possum in here that I probably would not have found if I were not going inside.

One way to possibly save space, especially to allow you more room to work in there, would be to hang the nests external, on an outside wall. Build them strong so they are not an easy way for a predator to get in and you may have to gather them outside in bad weather. There are always trade-offs.

Personally I'd change your entrance/storage area to just a small storage area and have an L-shaped coop. To me that is a lot of wasted space. And I'd consider moving the doors over to the end of the wall instead of in the middle, I think that gives you more usable space. And pay close attention to door swing, like maybe swing out instead of in so you don't have to keep that area as clear.

I also like overhang. On the side walls I stop the wall panels a little short and cover that space with hardware cloth. The way my rafters run that makes installing the side panels easier anyway. I'd consider leaving an area over your front door open and covered with hardware cloth, but probably that is unnecessary. But on the back door, where it is going into the run and is totally covered by that roof I'd leave a big area open and cover it with hardware cloth. Great protected ventilation. As long as all those openings are well over their heads when they are on the roosts you should be in good shape.

I rarely get paper wasp nests in the coop. When I do I knock them down and let the chickens eat the larva in the nest. If the wasps fly down where the chickens can get them the chickens will eat them, or at least try.

Lots of personal preferences here. This is intended more to give you things to think about than trying to tell you how to do it. Good luck!

 

[ColoradoPip]

Do you have any trouble with wasps getting through your hardware cloth and making nests?

https://www.groworganic.com/products/the-waspinator
These work very well and have lasted in Colorado weather for ~5 years hanging outside year round. Since putting it up not a single wasp nest has been found anywhere within 30ft radius at a minimum (I have not measured it to be exact so it's probably more like 50ft+).

I seriously laughed at it, until it worked, extremely well. No scents, no baits, no poisons, nothing. If only everything worked like this!

 

[redfoxco]

Great tips, @Ridgerunner ... just what I was looking for. Thanks!

Thanks for the link, @ColoradoPip.

 

[Molpet]

Do you have any trouble with wasps getting through your hardware cloth and making nests?

I have wasps crawl through, but they try to fly out and get stuck in the coop. I help the bumblebees out but the wasps get eaten. Spicy sky raisins
So far no wasps nests.. did have some carpenter bees, but they left the 2nd year

 

[aart]

I have wasps crawl through, but they try to fly out and get stuck in the coop. I help the bumblebees out but the wasps get eaten. Spicy sky raisins
So far no wasps nests.. did have some carpenter bees, but they left the 2nd year

About the same here.
Tho never had/saw a wasp get eaten.
Carpenter bees seem to mostly be too big to get thru the HC.

 

[Molpet]

About the same here.
Tho never had/saw a wasp get eaten.
Carpenter bees seem to mostly be too big to get thru the HC.

Wasp was at some feed and a cockerel had a spicy snack
I think the Carpenters went through above the man door. There's almost a 1/2 inch gap

 

[redfoxco]

I've just about decided that my "foyer" is more trouble than it's worth. I may ditch it and just install a simple 6' long roost on one side of the coop, with the opposite wall hosting the nest boxes, food/water, and storage shelves (maybe something like this: https://pin.it/6bkTkFL). I think I'll have room for an isolation cage as well.

 

[aart]

I've just about decided that my "foyer" is more trouble than it's worth. I may ditch it and just install a simple 6' long roost on one side of the coop, with the opposite wall hosting the nest boxes, food/water, and storage shelves (maybe something like this: https://pin.it/6bkTkFL). I think I'll have room for an isolation cage as well.

It was pretty small.
I'd not store bags of feed like that tho, rodents will get at them, use a metal garbage can.
..and you may need to block access so the birds don't get on the shelves.