Nesting Box height?

[mamahigh]

Hi,my husband and I have purchased my grandparents home and property. We decided this year we would re-open my papas chicken coop. The structure itself is still strong however the flooring is not so great. What would be the best thing to replace it with? (it is wood but rotting away) So now that I am a new chicken mom, I have to kick in gear and get this coop ready to open, we have about two to three weeks before my girls are ready to move in. I finished their nesting boxes last and I know I need to add legs to the frame, I am just not sure how long to make them off the ground. Also, I am using some old ladders for their roosting perch (not sure if that's the appropriate name), should they be off the ground as well or can i make it go from the ground up?


I have been told this group is awesome for getting good info. So please hear my cry for HELP!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

In general, roost should be significantly higher than the nests. (so they don't sleep in the nest) I like the entrance to the nests about 12-18 inches above the floor.
Depending on how high the roost is, sometimes they'll just fly/jump up to it. It's still a good idea to have a ramp or ladder to get there.

 

[ECBW]

The bottom of my nests are 18" AFF. I can hang feeder or place waterer under them. The perch to the nests is 22". It also provides a step to the roosts at 30" and up. No ramp necessary.

 

[aart]

Here's my theory on the 'stack up' aspect to coop design:
Bottom of pop door should be about 8" above floor so bedding doesn't get dragged out of coop.
Nice to have bottom of nests about 18" above bedding to allow use of that floor space under them(doesn't count if your nests are mounted on outside of coop).
Roosts should be about 12" higher than nests so birds won't roost(sleep) in nests and poop in them, if you use poop boards under roosts it will also 'stretch' your floor space.
Upper venting should be as high as possible above roosts so no strong drafts hit roosts in winter...and hot/moist air and ammonia can rise and exit coop.

 

[wamtazlady]

Everyone does things differently. The bottom of my nest boxes are even with the floor. My nesting boxes hang outside the coop. The roosts are 22 inches above the floor. The roof vents are another 3 1/2 feet above the roosts so there is no draft blowing on the birds at night.

 

[Hokum Coco]

. The structure itself is still strong however the flooring is not so great. What would be the best thing to replace it with? Hard to give advise without pictures you may get by laying a sheet of plastic or some kind of vapour barrier and covering the existing floor with plywood . My nest boxes are 24"off the ground (room for water and feeder underneath.) Also, I am using some old ladders for their roosting Chickens like to roost as high as possible you should install them so they can roost higher than your nest boxes if not your birds will be inclined to sleep in their nest.
I have cushion floor over my floor with pine shavings used for a bedding.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, photos or at least a general description could help. There are just so many different coops out there it’s really hard to give good advice when we could be assuming something very different than your reality. I envision a big walk-in coop. Someone else may be envisioning a small elevated coop.

Some people are quite happy with the nests on the floor, others like them pretty high. Say you have a bad back and have trouble bending over to collect the eggs. You might want the nests up high. There may be something unique about your coop that dictates one thing or another but in general make it convenient to you. I find that people care about this a lot more than the chickens do.

Roosts are much the same way. We do them all kinds of ways. Most chickens won’t have any trouble jumping/flying up to a roost five feet high or even higher as long as they have room to spread their wings and fly so with a certain size coop you can just put them all up at the same height. People have been using the ladder style roosts for a long long time too. They work. People will argue back and forth about which one is “best” but the bottom line is that they both work. This is something else that people care about it a lot more than the chickens do.

If you have limited space in your coop or special needs chickens like Silkies that can’t fly, you may be better off with one way or the other, but in general which is easier or more convenient to you?

That’s actually one of the problems with this forum, there are so many different things that work that you can be overwhelmed with options. There are so many correct answers that you can become confused about which is “best”. Unless you have something unique about your situation, there is no best, there are several good enough.

 

[mamahigh]

My apologies on no pics! It's been pouring rain for days and still is, and I haven't made it out to the coop. It is a simple 6x8 barn style building with a rounded roof, wood floor that is on the ground not raised. The side walls are around four and a half feet tall before it starts to round up to the ceiling that is roughly 7-7 1/2 feet tall. (It looks like a garden shed from the outside). I will try to get out for pictures after work today.

I'm more worried about predators tunneling into the coop than the cleanliness or ease of the floor.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m glad you mentioned your real concern. That’s not that hard to resolve. I suggest you don’t worry about your floor for that but use an apron around the building. Take a piece of wire maybe 18” to 24” wide and lay it flat on the ground around on the outside of the building. Attach that firmly to the bottom of the building really low. You may need to bend up the edge of that wire but I suggest you take a piece of wood maybe ¾” thick and use screws to attach that wood over the wire with the screws going through openings in the wire. Clamp that down pretty tightly. Drill pilot holes in that wood where the screws go to help keep the wood from splitting. You can even use fender washers on those screws to help clamp that wood on tightly. You don’t have to bury that flat part, just lay something on it to hold it down until the grass grows through it to hold it down, but if you remove the top two inches of turf and put that back on top, it keeps it out of the way of lawn mowers and weed eaters.

The idea is that a critter goes up to the wall, starts digging, hits the wire, and does not know to back up. It’s really effective.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I suggest you don’t worry about your floor for that but use an apron around the building. Take a piece of wire maybe 18” to 24” wide and lay it flat on the ground around on the outside of the building.