New to site and first build

[JackHenry43]

Hi everyone. First post on here after finally deciding to join. I have spent a lot of time reading post and trying to gather as much information as I can and finally decided I may as well join and hopefully get some other opinions of folks who have done it before.

I have built a new chicken coop on wheels and thought it would be perfect and have everything I wanted... unfortunately I did not think things through thoroughly enough and keep seeing things I wish I had changed. My coop I built is 8'x14' with a man size door and 9 external nesting boxes. I am at the point to start working on my roosting bars and poop board and realized that I do not have a good setup for this. I have a 25" x 14' poop board in place and wanted ideas on how I can maximize the space on top for roosting. I was hoping to fit 2 roosting bars, 14' long over it but after reading so many posts it doesn't seem like that's a good idea (too close together)? Would putting the roosting bars in the opposite direction ie. 25" bars spaced every 12" or so all the way down the 14' length be more appropriate?
Really appreciate others opinions on this and thank you very much.

 

[Loving my girls]

25” deep poop board sounds fine to me however I would have two perches, one higher one lower, this helps with their strong queen to guttersnipe order of things. I find that the queen and her two maids of waiting are on the top perch while my other five squabble a bit to find their position (except poor Iris who knows her place ).
As you can see from my setup I added two perches after my flock increased. The taller left perch hooks at the top onto the horizontal curtain rod so that it can be removed easily for cleaning. The smaller two are not attached so can be picked up and removed for cleaning.
Remember that before laying nuggets they are primarily pooping machines.

Hope this helps.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Hey @JackHenry43 , welcome to BYC, your coop sounds nice and big. How many birds are you having in there?
As far as your roost bar dilemma, I haven't seen any configured like that. I seem to think it would cause too much ruckus at roost time with many birds trying to cram on certain bars. Then you would have to space them far enough away from each other to prevent feather picking and this is where your going to lose your roost bar square footage. (Instead of just one spaced 14" from wall.) and if your butting the one end up to the wall you'd also worry about each one being like an alley with your bird having only one way out if getting picked on. Pics of your current set up would definitely help here with suggestions.

Some things to consider....

 

[JackHenry43]

I definitely understand the offset option but was fearful now of just not having enough room for them if one winds up under the other while also making sure to leave enough room away from the wall. My thoughts were also that having the roosts at the same height would help eliminate the desire to all be on the highest roosting bars.

My plan was to start with about 30 of them...but if I can't find adequate roosting areas then that plan may have to change. I have attached some older photos to hopefully give you an idea of the layout. Walls have since been covered up on the inside.

I was hoping to not have roosts and a poop board on the right side so that I would have easier access to the nesting boxes when I'm inside the coop. I'm definitely open to all sorts of suggestions on how to make this work. How would you guys finish this inside? I definitely didn't plan this out the best for my interior...

Automatic chicken door is on the left side under the window. Vents are being installed on both ends up high. I live in zone 3 so winter temps will often hit -30 to -40 and in those frigid temps chickens up here stay inside which is why I'm trying to maximize my floor space for those cold winter days when stuck inside. My floor also has horse stall mats down on it now.

Appreciate the suggestions.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Roosts on left above auto door 14'. L it at the far end that gives you another 7' 6" roughly? I typically run 3- 3 1/2" wide roost bars, and my outside board on the poop board I make roughly that same thickness so my birds roost there also, especially the lower ranking hens.

 

[JackHenry43]

I planned to mill some 3" boards for my roosts. I also considered that "L" shape down at the end. The poop board would definitely be hanging over that last nesting box or 2 as they go right up to the wall. If I'm only putting 1 roost along the walls, how far out would you recommend I put it and how deep of a poop board would I need to use?

 

[wrathsfarm]

I planned to mill some 3" boards for my roosts. I also considered that "L" shape down at the end. The poop board would definitely be hanging over that last nesting box or 2 as they go right up to the wall. If I'm only putting 1 roost along the walls, how far out would you recommend I put it and how deep of a poop board would I need to use?

I use 1x4 framing for mine so it's 2 3/4" deep and add a 1x4 to the front lip for the second perch/roost, roosts are 16" away from wall for my roosters. I think 12-14" is typically recommended if you just have hens. My roosts are 10"-12" above poop board.

Wanted to add, thats a nice coop. In case you haven't done the math your coop is 112 sq ft.
30 birds at recommended 4 sq per is 120. If you do the L roosts that's 22 ft. Adding the front lip doubles that or it's just a landing pad for them. With your winters I'd think 25 birds would be comfortable depending on size.
Also just a thought, but where your L hits the nest box you could 45 your poop board to gain a little better access to it.

Maybe others will chime in with other ideas to help you....