Nesting box top - slanted or flat?

[Mimi13]

Nice perch mounts....but those curtains won't see those in my coop

Well, no, maybe not, but I placed them on my very first two nest boxes and the hens began laying in them...instead of the run floor, so now I’ve got them on all 12.

I pretty much copied the whole stand alone box concept you have, not just the the perch mounts. I believe that’s one of the main things I liked about yours. Oh, and my girls love them too!

 

[K0k0shka]

T
Think about the winter time when the leaves will be gone.

Think about two or three feet of snow too!

For the winter, I was thinking, as soon as the trees drop their leaves and go dormant, I want to cover the entire run in plastic and turn it into a greenhouse kind of run. So the chickens can enjoy it year round, and also, so I won't have to shovel it The top will be slanted to help the snow slide off, and the frame will be sturdy wood.

How about making it convertible so that you don't need to reinvent the wheel down the road? If you attach the 'roof' along the back edge at the wall with hinges, but not attached at the front, you can easily retrofit it with legs on the front to bring it up to a level work surface later on. If you want to get really fancy with it, you can make those legs folding... and build it all at the same time and simply unfold the legs when you need a flat surface to work on.

Oooh I like that idea!

Dry is better, if they stay dry. Birds can keep things mixed up if there's enough other bigger stuff to keep them from packing. Even if they are shredded they can go nasty. Too much of any one ingredient can make for a mess. Observe and Adjust.

Observe and adjust seems to be a running theme Will definitely do that. Just trying to get some ideas to start from first. I think I'll probably vacuum up the leaves as usual and shred them, then only dump back a little at a time so they don't get nasty. I like what I read elsewhere on BYC about bagging leaves to use in the summer, when there's plenty of green but not enough brown, so I'm definitely gonna try to do that.

As aart mentioned, the 2"x4" woven wire will keep out raptors, and on the ceiling, raccoons, but not every predator. Weasels and rats, for example, and those mite carrying wild birds.
It's definitely an upgrade, short of having an actual roof.

I know we have fishers in the area, so I should probably be safe and give the top a tighter mesh... and then figure out how to get the leaves down... Blowing them off with the leaf blower sounds fun!

 

[aart]

I like what I read elsewhere on BYC about bagging leaves to use in the summer, when there's plenty of green but not enough brown, so I'm definitely gonna try to do that.

If you bag them green or even the least bit damp they will mold in the bag BTDT. One year the fallen leaves were bone dry and I was able to bag up a bunch, worked great. Next year they seemed really dry, but were not...was nasty.

The top will be slanted to help the snow slide off, and the frame will be sturdy wood.

Make it very sturdy...and very slanted....and have a plastic roof rake ready.

 

[ajackalope]

Slanted top. Some of mine will roost on anything including the waterer and the feed can. The feed can was in the middle of winter. I finally had to move it because I was afraid the one hen that was doing it would freeze to the top of the can. This same hen also used to lay her eggs in the feeder.

 

[K0k0shka]

If you bag them green or even the least bit damp they will mold in the bag BTDT. One year the fallen leaves were bone dry and I was able to bag up a bunch, worked great. Next year they seemed really dry, but were not...was nasty.

Of course, definitely dry!

Make it very sturdy...and very slanted....and have a plastic roof rake ready.

I was thinking of using landscape timbers for the vertical supports and the horizontal frame on the ground, and then pressure treated 2x4's for the midway horizontal supports and the top frame, with the 2x4's placed on the narrow side, like roof rafters... Would that be sturdy enough? I have a roof rake already and was definitely thinking of using it if we ever get real snow again...

 

[Mimi13]

IMHO, a tighter mesh, with a fairly steep and sturdy frame, would not be as aggravating as a larger mesh, flat frame. But then again, it will still be an “observe and adjust” kind of thing. I think @aart has just coined a phrase.

 

[Folly's place]

Look at building requirements for your area, and go with that, at least. More money spent up front on good framing is better than collapsing roof sections, especially if you happen to be there at the time!
Ours was built to code, or better, and when a 35 ft. spruce fell on it, only the shingles and a couple of sheets of plywood had to be replaced. Nothing seriously damaged!
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you bag them green or even the least bit damp they will mold in the bag BTDT. One year the fallen leaves were bone dry and I was able to bag up a bunch, worked great. Next year they seemed really dry, but were not...was nasty.

I have gotten away with bagging slightly damp leaves (I lay them around the lawn to dry as much as possible) but part of that is probably how I store them, in an unused greenhouse, loosely bagged as possible to allow for air circulation. Last year's batch had to be dried between rainfall but the results were still acceptable, and I still have a few bags left to divide between the chicken run and my compost bin.

 

[aart]

I have gotten away with bagging slightly damp leaves (I lay them around the lawn to dry as much as possible) but part of that is probably how I store them, in an unused greenhouse, loosely bagged as possible to allow for air circulation.

Having a space to process them would really help. Mine were stuffed pretty tight in plastic feed bags.

 

[Charlenesmom]

Honestly if you're scraping poop boards it isn't that much more to scrape the top of the nest box if needed.

If your using sand under the roosts, no scraping necessary, just a litter scoop.