Poopboard width and distance of roost from wall

[fiddlebanshee]

So, as my coop is starting to become a reality, I'm wondering how wide y'all poopboards are. I had read somewhere that the roosts need to be 18" from the wall, that would dictate a 3' wide poopboard with the roost in the middle. This is a bit hard to handle or clean when you're not that tall, especially when it's higher up. So I'm wondering what is the average width of your poopboard and how far are your roosts from the wall.

I'm planning on having an L-shaped roost area with the roosts all on one level and I have one 32" countertop that I am planning to use as a poopboard on one side of the L. It will rest on 2 kitchen cabinets, that sit on three concrete blocks, the cabinets are 15" high, 12" deep, 30" wide each, and about 10 or 11" off the floor. The cabinets are butting the wall so that I can make access doors to get the eggs from the outside. My fear is that the nest boxes will be so far back under the poopboard that the birds won't find them. So perhaps the poopboard should be a bit narrower? The other side of the L I will have 1/4" plywood that I will reinforce somehow so that it won't sag, so that is much lighter and more flexible and I can configure that however it needs to be.

What do you all think? I can rip the countertop to make it narrower, if I have to. I'd rather not, since that thing is heavy and awkward. I think I might put drip pans on top of it for easy cleaning of the droppings every few days.

TIA.

 

[teach1rusl]

My roost is only 12 inches from the wall, and my dropping board is 24 inches wide. Both seem to work fine for my girls.

ETA: Okay...I didn't actually answer your question. I think your counter tops will work fine at 32 inches. Chickens don't seem to be too picky about nesting boxes, and many say they seem to prefer darker areas, so a deeper nesting box will be more private.

 

[patandchickens]

Most of my droppings boards are 16" wide and they catch the vast majority of the poo. If they were wider they would catch a *little* bit more, but you quickly get to a point of diminishing returns IMHO and frankly the really squirty cecal poos are going elsewhere no matter WhAT you do (and that may be just as well, considering how hard they are to clean off the board, lol)

You CAN do a 3' wide droppings board if you want, but it'll be more of a nuisance to clean, for several reasons, and I am by no means convinced there's a lot of point in it.

Remember that clearance from roost to wall is not mainly a matter of poo, it is a matter of not having chickens' tails rubbing the wall; and chickens do not poo from the *tip* of their tail feathers <g>

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Thanks for both your responses. I think I am over-thinking this. This is what I'll do. I'll experiment with both options. I leave the counter top for now at 32" and if they can't find the nest boxes I'll know quick enough. The other side of the L I'll make 24" wide boards, that rest against the wall with the roost at 16" from the wall. This is better also because the board would be sticking out in front of the people door if it were wider than 30", now we have a bit more room. If it turns out that the wider thing is too impractical, I can always cut it down later.

Thanks!