Opinions on roosting set up

[RxApple]

Hello all,

Looking for opinions. See attachments. We are in the process of building our coop.This coop will be attached to the 24'x32' run. It's 16'x8', with two separate 8'x8' rooms. Ceilings are 6' tall.

We will have 4 nest boxes on each side. There will be a chicken wire partition between the two sides with a sliding door between the two so we have ability to make it one large coop (once the chicks are big enough to hold their own.

I would like opinions on what kind of roosting set up would work best and where to put it/them. Also, what kind of manure collecting system (poop board or hammock). See attached pictures and drawings.

We have 21 laying age chickens and 10 seven week olds.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dmontgomery]

Really nice build. Where is the door for the chickens to exit the coop area and go to the fantastic run? What kind of door and how large? Right now it looks like that wall would be the best placing for your roosts. It looks like you've framed out for a window above the nesting boxes, is that right?
My opinion: 2 or 3 2x4's along the wall leading to the run with poop board just below it but above their door to the run. All roosts at the same level with a small portable chicken ladder for access. Place the chicken ladder against the sliding door wall for now.
Beautiful work so far!

 

[Dmontgomery]

I forgot to ask, where are you located? What climate, hot or cold?

 

[aart]

My coop is split-able too. I put up a temporary wire wall to partition off a 4 foot section of 6x16 foot coop in spring to raise chicks.
Both sides have roosts with poop boards and access to separate runs.
Nest bank is in main coop area.
I have used the partition area during other times of the year and have a portable floor nest if needed.
Coop is in a 16x16 shed, most of shed is storage for chicken and garden supplies with room to put up isolation crates at times.

Awesome setup you've got going up...Kudos!

 

[Ridgerunner]

One suggestion I’d make is build two pop doors, one in each side, and carve out a separate run area so you have two coop/run areas. The area you carve out does not have to be huge, but put a human gate/door between the two. That will help in integration and give you a lot more flexibility in managing them. It can be cheap chicken wire too, you are just containing chickens, not predator-proofing.

I’d suggest putting your roosts as far from the human door as possible. That puts the roosts out of your way when you walk in and work in there. Plan things more for your comfort and convenience, you’ll wind up caring a lot more than the chickens ever will. I assume the six foot height is the walls and you actually have more head height in the middle. I bounce up and down when I walk so things just high enough for me to stand under can still offer a head buster when I’m walking, especially if I’m wearing a cap with a bill. It’s hard to see things that height. For me that argues for putting the roosts on the side and not across the back. That way you are walking in the higher part. But I think there is a better argument for putting them across the back. I’m not sure how you are handling ventilation though.

I built a permanent brooder under my main roosts and use the top of the brooder as a droppings board. The brooder is only 6’ long so on the end of the roosts I got a couple of plastic bins from Walmart and set those under the roosts at that end. I build a juvenile roost over my nests and use the top of my nests as a droppings board. I have not used a hammock. There are a lot of different ways you can handle poop management.

For 21 adult chickens and another ten to come, I’d suggest three 8’ long roosts about a foot off the wall and separated by a foot horizontally. That should be enough but that takes up an 8’ x 3’ area for roosts. Since a good rule of thumb is to extend the droppings board a foot past the roost, half of one side will be taken up by your poop collection system, 4’ x 8’. That’s a full sheet of plywood. That’s a long way to reach over to scrape it, I use a garden hoe with a short handle. It works well for me to reach the back of my 3’ wide droppings board. That’s also a long way to reach under, probably on hands and knees, for nests or anything under there. Instead of two 8x8 areas, I’d strongly suggest you change that to a 4x8 for the chicks and a 8x12 for the adults. Or 5x8 and 8x11. I think you are setting up a lot of wasted space for the chicks and a really tight area for the adults.

I don’t have any strong feelings for droppings boards, hammocks, or just plastic bins under the roosts. They can all work. But for the size you are talking about I’d think a droppings board might work out best for you.

Good luck! It does look nice.

 

[RxApple]

Really nice build. Where is the door for the chickens to exit the coop area and go to the fantastic run? What kind of door and how large? Right now it looks like that wall would be the best placing for your roosts. It looks like you've framed out for a window above the nesting boxes, is that right?
My opinion: 2 or 3 2x4's along the wall leading to the run with poop board just below it but above their door to the run. All roosts at the same level with a small portable chicken ladder for access. Place the chicken ladder against the sliding door wall for now.
Beautiful work so far!

Thanks! There will be an automaticchickencoopdoor.com door on each side going to the run. The chickens are in the run now with a small prefab coop for nesting and a roosting ladder ( 7' tall, 7' out, and 9.9' diagonal with 5 5' long horizontals) under the metal roof. Ten chickens each roost on the top 5' long 2x4s (only 6 inches per chicken) and then one on the third step down, the bottom two boards are unused, crazy chickens.

Anyway, so they are in there so thats why the holes haven't been cut for the doors yet....

I forgot to ask, where are you located? What climate, hot or cold?

We are in SW Missouri, so both climates. 100 degrees and humid in the summer and 0 degrees in the winter would be the extremes.

My coop is split-able too. I put up a temporary wire wall to partition off a 4 foot section of 6x16 foot coop in spring to raise chicks.
Both sides have roosts with poop boards and access to separate runs.
Nest bank is in main coop area.
I have used the partition area during other times of the year and have a portable floor nest if needed.
Coop is in a 16x16 shed, most of shed is storage for chicken and garden supplies with room to put up isolation crates at times.

Awesome setup you've got going up...Kudos!

Thanks! sounds like similar setups.

One suggestion I’d make is build two pop doors, one in each side, and carve out a separate run area so you have two coop/run areas. The area you carve out does not have to be huge, but put a human gate/door between the two. That will help in integration and give you a lot more flexibility in managing them. It can be cheap chicken wire too, you are just containing chickens, not predator-proofing.

I’d suggest putting your roosts as far from the human door as possible. That puts the roosts out of your way when you walk in and work in there. Plan things more for your comfort and convenience, you’ll wind up caring a lot more than the chickens ever will. I assume the six foot height is the walls and you actually have more head height in the middle. I bounce up and down when I walk so things just high enough for me to stand under can still offer a head buster when I’m walking, especially if I’m wearing a cap with a bill. It’s hard to see things that height. For me that argues for putting the roosts on the side and not across the back. That way you are walking in the higher part. But I think there is a better argument for putting them across the back. I’m not sure how you are handling ventilation though.

I built a permanent brooder under my main roosts and use the top of the brooder as a droppings board. The brooder is only 6’ long so on the end of the roosts I got a couple of plastic bins from Walmart and set those under the roosts at that end. I build a juvenile roost over my nests and use the top of my nests as a droppings board. I have not used a hammock. There are a lot of different ways you can handle poop management.

For 21 adult chickens and another ten to come, I’d suggest three 8’ long roosts about a foot off the wall and separated by a foot horizontally. That should be enough but that takes up an 8’ x 3’ area for roosts. Since a good rule of thumb is to extend the droppings board a foot past the roost, half of one side will be taken up by your poop collection system, 4’ x 8’. That’s a full sheet of plywood. That’s a long way to reach over to scrape it, I use a garden hoe with a short handle. It works well for me to reach the back of my 3’ wide droppings board. That’s also a long way to reach under, probably on hands and knees, for nests or anything under there. Instead of two 8x8 areas, I’d strongly suggest you change that to a 4x8 for the chicks and a 8x12 for the adults. Or 5x8 and 8x11. I think you are setting up a lot of wasted space for the chicks and a really tight area for the adults.

I don’t have any strong feelings for droppings boards, hammocks, or just plastic bins under the roosts. They can all work. But for the size you are talking about I’d think a droppings board might work out best for you.

Good luck! It does look nice.

Some good ideas. The one side of the partition will be more of a halfway house. We have a small prefab coop and run that works good for after they outgrow the plastic tub stage. With the clean out doors already framed and centered, I may be able to move partition slightly one direction. I was planning on making a small temporary run in the big run in the back corner, so it'll be about 12x8 or 8x8.

I think the roosting boards on the run side wall with a table below might be our best route. Thanks for the ideas.

Here are the updated pictures from today.... The bottom is fortified and will be open on the run side so they can go under there for shade and such.

 

[treefrogging]

That's an absolutely beautiful coop & run!