New Coop Blueprint

[Alaskan]

So the chickens poop all over the roosts and given that wood is porous, I fear that is contributing to the problem we're having with respiratory diseases.

Eh... I would say ventilation.

My chickens poop on their perches, and I do not clean my coops as often as I should.....

But, no respiratory issues. None.

See? Poopy perch.

 

[aart]

My chickens poop on their perches

So do mine....
not when they are sleeping but they do spend time on roost when they are not sleeping.

 

[Sally PB]

My chickens poop on their perches

I occasionally see a poop clump on the perches. I see lots of dirt/poop smears from their feet.

 

[Alaskan]

So do mine....
not when they are sleeping but they do spend time on roost when they are not sleeping.

Yeah... same here.

Those bantams actually refuse to sleep there... they sleep higher up.

But, they like playing on the perch and poopshelf since it sits in the sun.

Since they just play there poop gets everywhere.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The main reason I was trying to avoid wood was b/c cleaning the wood is near impossible! So the chickens poop all over the roosts and given that wood is porous, I fear that is contributing to the problem we're having with respiratory diseases. I suspect this, I really don't know. But I think cleaning the PVC will be much easier. Also, I went ahead and put some duct tape on the top of the PVC pipe surface to give the chickens better grip and also to allow easier cleaning. In theory, peel and throw away so we'll see as time will tell.

I am curious if the chickens will use the PVC roosts but if they don't I hope you're willing to switch it out. Also you may be better off sanding the PVC for grip rather than using duct tape, but don't know if that'll make a difference.

As others mentioned poop on a roost isn't an issue. Any respiratory issues are because of ventilation, not because of wood being porous or poop on roosts, otherwise no one would use wood roosts. Start a new thread with photos of your coop so you can get some advice to address ventilation.

 

[sheken]

Eh... I would say ventilation.

My chickens poop on their perches, and I do not clean my coops as often as I should.....

But, no respiratory issues. None.

Yeah, I think we underestimated the need for ventilation. Drastically! So hopefully punching in some big holes with hardware cloth will help and/or completely eliminate the diseases our birds are getting. Fowl pox! Do you vaccinate your birds?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yeah, I think we underestimated the need for ventilation. Drastically! So hopefully punching in some big holes with hardware cloth will help

Think bigger. Drilling holes gives you sq inches of ventilation. In a hot climate, you need to be thinking in sq ft.

Recommended minimum year round is 1 sq ft per bird, 24/7. In hotter climates you'd want more than that. I'm in a more temperate climate and we have around 3 sq ft per bird open almost all year round.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yeah, I think we underestimated the need for ventilation. Drastically! So hopefully punching in some big holes with hardware cloth will help and/or completely eliminate the diseases our birds are getting. Fowl pox! Do you vaccinate your birds?

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

You can make a thread on your coop with photos and measurements and we'll help you figure this out.

I have no experience with fowl pox.

 

[sheken]

I am curious if the chickens will use the PVC roosts but if they don't I hope you're willing to switch it out. Also you may be better off sanding the PVC for grip rather than using duct tape, but don't know if that'll make a difference.

As others mentioned poop on a roost isn't an issue. Any respiratory issues are because of ventilation, not because of wood being porous or poop on roosts, otherwise no one would use wood roosts. Start a new thread with photos of your coop so you can get some advice to address ventilation.

The chickens are definitely using the 2" PVC pipe roosts. I wouldn't say the prefer it over the 2x3s or 2x2s roosts we also have in there but they don't seem to totally hate it. However, I've not really watched them to the level of observation illustrated on that Experimental Perch post! I'll continue to watch to see if there's some sort of pattern for its usage.

 

[3KillerBs]

Recommended minimum year round is 1 sq ft per bird, 24/7. In hotter climates you'd want more than that. I'm in a more temperate climate and we have around 3 sq ft per bird open almost all year round.

Yep.

This is my brooder: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

It's got 16 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation and 10 additional feet of supplemental ventilation.