poop board

[beaken]

I,m going to start on building the roost soon for 50 birds . I heard not to build a pyramid type because they could fight over the top roost. I have enough room to put 2 -25 foot long 2x4 's at 4 ft high is that too high ? also if I'm using a 2x4 for a roost with them sitting on the 4 inch side how wide should the poop board be underneath them ? i,m assuming it needs to be centered because they can poop off either side .

 

[Mahlzeit]

I have my roost at 4ft high and my birds have no problem getting up there. Personally I would have your 2x4 upright with them sitting on the 2 inch part so the can grip it. I use 2x2's and they work great. Hope this helps. As for the dropping's board I would have it atleast 8 inches out on each side of the roost.

 

[beaken]

So like an 18 inch wide board ? that seems wide

 

[eponagirl]

I have heard that when using 2x4's you should have the 4" side UP for them to sit on...it is more comfortable for them and in the winter, they keep their feet warm. Not sure about the poop board width, so am curious to see what other responses you get. We are building our coop now and will be using 2x4's for roost and some kind of poop board....

 

[redoak]

18 inches wide sounds good for a droppings board. I have a portable roost I keep 9 inches away from the wall, any closer they tend to leaves "streaks" on the wall. I use a 2x4 with the wide side up for roosts. If you have a heavy breed 4 feet high might be a little much for the roosts. My roosts are 3 feet high and my orpingtons fly off them and land pretty heavy, and I have lots of bedding in my coop.

 

[newchickmom]

I have my roosts 36" high with the 4" side up. This is so they can keep their feet warmer in the winter, also Chickens don't really grip so much like other birds do.

 

[patandchickens]

I have 12-14" poop boards under my roosts (that's for a single roost, not 2 parallel) and they are mostly-but-not-quite wide enough. Partly it depends on how much you care about missing a bit of the output. With 50' of roost you're going to have a LOT of droppings board acreage, though... I think the more usual thing in that situation is to build several parallel roosts over a droppings pit enclosed with large mesh wire (to keep chickens from mucking about in it) and clean the droppings pit out at whatever interval is necessary for air quality. You certainly COULD use droppings boards, just saying it isn't the usual strategy for that size flock.

I think 4' is a very reasonable height for a roost; it means it's still easy for you to pick birds off the roost at night to medicate/inspect/move/whatever.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[beaken]

Thanks everyone You gave me some good advice . I thought I should have the 4 inch side up I live in Minnesota and heard the 4 inch side keeps their feet warmer. I have 25 Plymouth rock 25 goldlinks and 1 noy sure what it is yet and a turkey. I like the pit idea I'll have to think about that .. Is it really a bad idea to have perches like an angle latter ? 2 ft then 3 ft then 4ft ? any more ideas on dropping control would be great too..

 

[Chicken Woman]

I have 2 2 by 4's that are 8 feet long. (the length of my coop).
They are 3 feet high and 2 feet between them.
So one is in the back 8 inches from the wall and the other is in front.

I built a poop board that is 33 inches deep and 8 ft long. It is about 2 ft off the floor. On the poop board I have plastic bins with shavings 2 inches deep. Then I have chicken wire over bins.

The chickens don't walk in poop. It is easy to slide the bins out to empty them. I have much less poo on my coop floor.

Under the poop board I have my nest boxes and the birds cannot sit on the top of them and poo. It's also dark there so they seem to like having nest boxes in a dark place.

I have a 12 inch board with 1 by 1s every 6 inches for the heavy breeds to climb up to roost.

Good luck on your coop

Have fun !