New coop owner

[3chickinns]

I'm designing my own coop and building as I go.

1. I have poured a concrete floor for the run. After reading numerous threads in here I'm still confused if I'm supposed to cover the concrete with something that's changed out frequently. We will have 5-6 hens. Do I cover concrete floor with pine shavings and DE? How often does that get changed?

2. For the coop I have nesting boxes. My understanding is the perch needs to be above the highest nesting box. How do the chickens get up to the perch (maybe a dumb question). Do I need to build a ramp to the perch too? Can those be steep? How much height needs to be above the perch bar for a standard chicken to fit? I want to make sure the slope of the roof doesn't impact their ability to sleep. Each bird needs 10"? Perch bars need to be 10" apart?

3. What are you using for removeable poop trays? The coop itself should have pine shavings right? Do the poop trays go on top of the pine shavings?

Thank you so much!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I don’t have a poop tray, I just clean out the shavings every few months... it’s a pretty big coop. I haven’t heard of a roost being above the highest nesting box, but maybe it’s a thing. I’d say 10” of roost space is good, although maybe a little extra room would be nice. Also how many birds are you having?

 

[3chickinns]

Thanks for your reply. I plan to have 5 hens. I had read that if the roost isn't above the highest nest they sometimes stay in the nest which then ends up with poop. Not sure how accurate that is but trying to avoid that if possible.
I'm mostly concerned about smell because this coop is in my backyard in Los Angeles. Trying to keep the neighbors happy and also allow for easy clean up!

 

[3KillerBs]

Concrete is a great base if you have a problem with digging predators, but you need some form of bedding/litter to absorb the moisture of the poop, cushion the chickens feet when landing, and give them something to dig and scratch in.

Since you're concerned about odor, I suggest that you look at my article on Deep Bedding in a small coop. And since you're figuring out heights you might want to look at my Little Monitor Coop, which is designed to meet the minimums for 4 hens -- I have a lot of photos of how the space works.

Most chickens will fly up to and down from their roost -- which is why coops need a sufficient horizontal space for flight -- but others are too heavy to fly and will need to walk up a ramp.

I don't use poop trays myself, but they're popular. It depends on your management style.

 

[bill3607]

I use poop trays. You want to put those under your roost since they do a lot of it while roosting at night. My roosts are about 14 inches or so above the poop tray. You want to have I would say at least 18 inches of space above the roost bar but not in the direct cross breeze from your ventilation. And, yes the nesting boxes need to be lower than your roost or they will start to roost in or on your nesting boxes. Your roosts need to have about 12 inches give or take a inch or 2 of linear space for each bird. I also use the deep bedding system out of pine shavings. I do have a ramp up to my roost. Sometimes they use the ramp and sometimes they fly up to it. I could not tell you about the concrete for the run since I do not use that. My run and coop are both dirt floors with deep litter system.
Edit to say that you will do better to not have your poop trays higher than what is comfortable for you to clean out.

 

[Sally PB]

@3chickinns, welcome to BYC and chickens! You said you're going to have 5 chickens? They might all use one nest box, but two would be a good idea in case two ladies want to lay at the same time.

What are the dimensions of your concrete pad? Since you're in Los Angeles, maybe an open air coop would work for you.

There are many articles and threads about building coops, so if you're looking for inspiration, there are lots of ideas here. Take a look to see what you think will work for you, ask questions.

Here are some basics for measurements: Plan on 4 square feet in the coop, and 10 square feet in the run per chicken. More is always better! Especially after you find out how addictive chickens are, and want to get more.

Inside the coop, plan on 1 linear foot of roost space, and 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken. If you go with an open air design, the ventilation is taken care of.

 

[3chickinns]

Dhdhd

@3chickinns, welcome to BYC and chickens! You said you're going to have 5 chickens? They might all use one nest box, but two would be a good idea in case two ladies want to lay at the same time.

What are the dimensions of your concrete pad? Since you're in Los Angeles, maybe an open air coop would work for you.

There are many articles and threads about building coops, so if you're looking for inspiration, there are lots of ideas here. Take a look to see what you think will work for you, ask questions.

Here are some basics for measurements: Plan on 4 square feet in the coop, and 10 square feet in the run per chicken. More is always better! Especially after you find out how addictive chickens are, and want to get more.

Inside the coop, plan on 1 linear foot of roost space, and 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken. If you go with an open air design, the ventilation is taken care of.

Hi! Thanks so much for your reply. My coop is a work in progress as I’m designing as I go. The concrete slab is about 55sq ft. The last 2 pictures are of the coop that I’m currently working on. The top will be more storage so it will have a back on it and the bottom will be 2 nests. Then I’m thinking I’ll run 2 roosting bars across the length to give them some room and not be in the draft of the open air flow under the roof? Not sure why this part of the plan is tripping me up. I just want them to be happy and healthy so I’m stressed about designing their home!

 

[Moxieminxie]

Ok, you're right that you don't want the birds in the draft and they want to be as high as possible. I wouldn't bother with a poop board unless you need it to keep poop out of the nest boxes. In yours its a bit hard to judge the exact height, but can it be at least 2 feet high and 16 inches from the bottom of the ventilation? Being in California, where I would assume it is a hot area I would err on the side of putting their perch directly in ventilation to keep them cool rather than keeping them too hot. They can easily survive subzero temps if they are housed correctly. Heat stress can sometimes pause laying, though. I have a simple hinged board over some vents to provide more airflow in warm months. Maybe give them one in the draft and one below so they can choose if it is hot? I had birds roost up in the eave of my coop with about 6 or 8 inches of heads pace so they can cram themselves in creative spaces.