poop tray distance from roost?

[Tonya2237]

We finished building our coop! It's 7' square with nesting boxes on one side and the door to the ramp on the opposite side. It's a single slant roof with the 4' high side where I'm leaning in the 2 foot square door to take the pictures, and 6' high on the other side with the window. The entire coop/door/boxes are insulated. I've included pictures of our current roost setup and am trying to ask about the distance between the roost and the poop tray that I want to put in. We tried the roost here (see pictures) at about 18" off the floor and 18" off the wall, with boot trays underneath. The girls have been here 3 days and they've scratched the straw into the boot trays, over the sand I put in the trays, so it's made sifting poop out somewhat of a pain. If my lowest ceiling above the roost is 4' tall, how much space do i need between the roost and the poop tray? I've read that you need to have the same measurement of roost height and distance for them to fly down. there is also a vent on that 4' tall wall side, up near the top of the wall about 4" down from the top, so I would not want my roost higher than about 3' because they would catch that breeze. Also, they would need 3' to fly down before they crash into the nest boxes. I need to make the poop trays high enough for them to go under so they can get outside. Thanks!

 

[cavemanrich]

Here are my thoughts.
I feel you should have more ventilation than what I see.

You can remove the straw from coop floor, and place it in the run floor.
Coop floor, use sand. This way you don't need poop boards. Use kitty litter scooper to capture the gumdrops as needed cleaning.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Bsmac]

We finished building our coop! It's 7' square with nesting boxes on one side and the door to the ramp on the opposite side. It's a single slant roof with the 4' high side where I'm leaning in the 2 foot square door to take the pictures, and 6' high on the other side with the window. The entire coop/door/boxes are insulated. I've included pictures of our current roost setup and am trying to ask about the distance between the roost and the poop tray that I want to put in. We tried the roost here (see pictures) at about 18" off the floor and 18" off the wall, with boot trays underneath. The girls have been here 3 days and they've scratched the straw into the boot trays, over the sand I put in the trays, so it's made sifting poop out somewhat of a pain. If my lowest ceiling above the roost is 4' tall, how much space do i need between the roost and the poop tray? I've read that you need to have the same measurement of roost height and distance for them to fly down. there is also a vent on that 4' tall wall side, up near the top of the wall about 4" down from the top, so I would not want my roost higher than about 3' because they would catch that breeze. Also, they would need 3' to fly down before they crash into the nest boxes. I need to make the poop trays high enough for them to go under so they can get outside. Thanks!

Hello! Welcome to BYC! I agree with cavemanrich on the ventilation. I would remove the vent and just fasten some hardware cloth over the opening and add more openings.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Coop floor, use sand.

I wouldn't recommend sand in the coop unless you're in an arid climate. It does nothing to absorb liquids and odors.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I'm afraid your setup might not allow for a proper poop board. You need lots more ventilation which will limit how high the roost can be. Why not use shavings as bedding (and maybe some zeolite) and do daily spot cleanings?

 

[Tonya2237]

Here are my thoughts.
I feel you should have more ventilation than what I see.

You can remove the straw from coop floor, and place it in the run floor.
Coop floor, use sand. This way you don't need poop boards. Use kitty litter scooper to capture the gumdrops as needed cleaning.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

Hi, thank you for the information. I have the window that slides LtoR to open, plus a 12" x 5" vent above the door that I'm looking into for the pictures, plus the walk out door to the ramp on the South wall. Is that enough ventilation? Thx

 

[StinkyAcres]

Hi, thank you for the information. I have the window that slides LtoR to open, plus a 12" x 5" vent above the door that I'm looking into for the pictures, plus the walk out door to the ramp on the South wall. Is that enough ventilation? Thx

No, I'm afraid not. We usually recommend at least 1 square foot of permanently open ventilation per bird. I know that is not always possible, especially in a smaller coop, but add as much as you can cram in there without exposing your chickens to drafts in the winter.

Another option would be to install a ventilation fan for active ventilation. Of course, that requires electricity and can be costly.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I would raise the roosts to 3' high and put the poop trays about 10" below that - just low enough that you can comfortably scrape them with a kitty litter scooper. They would feel safer higher up.

 

[MROO]

No, I'm afraid not. We usually recommend at least 1 square foot of permanently open ventilation per bird. I know that is not always possible, especially in a smaller coop, but add as much as you can cram in there without exposing your chickens to drafts in the winter.

Another option would be to install a ventilation fan for active ventilation. Of course, that requires electricity and can be costly.

Look into a passive roof fan, like those used on barns and over attics. They're external - most mount on the roof or into the highest gable. My coop could use more ventilation, too, so I'm ISO a smaller rotating cupola fan for it. Besides being functional, they look really cool!

 

[StinkyAcres]

I would raise the roosts to 3' high and put the poop trays about 10" below that - just low enough that you can comfortably scrape them with a kitty litter scooper. They would feel safer higher up.

I don't think the poop board will be easily reached for cleaning at that height.