Roost advice need help. New to chickens

[Sheltiepawz]

Need advice on where to place roost and design. We set one up in there and now I realize it is to high. Right now they are flying up and sleeping on the back wall. The framed area is where we plan on placing the nesting boxes. Maybe we should move the nesting boxes to the wall with the coop door? Not sure if there is room there though and their exit door is also there. I was wondering about a tiered roost on the back wall. Would that make that area to congested with a roost, nest boxes and the coop door? . This part is hard lol!
Pictures of your setup and all advice are welcome.View attachment 1940635

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

From my experiences they need lower roosts to get to a higher roost. They would probably use your roost if there was an easier way to get up there.

 

[so lucky]

Love your coop and run! I just wanted to remind you not to overestimate the number of nest boxes you will need. Several chickens will use the same nest, maybe all the chickens will use the same nest. One nest for every 4 or 5 chickens will be plenty. This might make a difference in where your roosts go.

 

[Sheltiepawz]

From my experiences they need lower roosts to get to a higher roost. They would probably use your roost if there was an easier way to get up there.

I was planning on making a temporary roost today. I will put it near the one and see if they start using the higher one.

 

[Shadrach]

I would take the high roosts out altogether. I know people say chickens like to roost as high as possible but when the roost in the trees here they don't go for the highest branches.
A problem with high roosts isn't so much the getting up to them, it's the getting down. They tend to fly down and in a confined space this can cause injuries.
I try to place roosts at hop and flap height.

 

[Sheltiepawz]

Love your coop and run! I just wanted to remind you not to overestimate the number of nest boxes you will need. Several chickens will use the same nest, maybe all the chickens will use the same nest. One nest for every 4 or 5 chickens will be plenty. This might make a difference in where your roosts go.

Thank you! We have 7 right now, but I think chicken math is already starting. I think one might be a roo, so will have to replace him. I would like our finally number to be 9. The coop is 6x6. I am also considering making another door on the wall with the coop door. Originally that was my plan, but my husband got tired and just wanting to finish and said we could decided later lol! Or I may move the nest boxes to be on that wall which would be right by the pop door. Going to put some thought into it today.

 

[Sheltiepawz]

I would take the high roosts out altogether. I know people say chickens like to roost as high as possible but when the roost in the trees here they don't go for the highest branches.
A problem with high roosts isn't so much the getting up to them, it's the getting down. They tend to fly down and in a confined space this can cause injuries.
I try to place roosts at hop and flap height.

What height is that lol? And would you have a tiered system here or just one? I would really like a poop board also.

 

[Jandsloch]

Still a work in progress but my nest boxes are going under the poop board to save room. The poop board is sweet pdz and play sand for easy cleaning. We get some cold temps here during the winter and I wanted to be sure they had the rest of the “coop” to move about on days they don’t want to go out. When I started this project I had 20 (4 chicks) but I lost 5 to a predator. The coop is bigger than I thought so I’ll be adding more in the spring lol chicken math. I figured I had enough elbow room for 24 birds as I thought the shed was 8x12. It’s 10x10 I had to convince hubby that the extra room means 1 extra bird lmbo

 

[Shadrach]

What height is that lol? And would you have a tiered system here or just one? I would really like a poop board also.

There are a couple of pictures showing roost arrangements in this article.
Roughly I've found a height of between 6 and 30 inches from the next lowest large surface works well. Roosts set away from each other and at similar heights may help with the nighttime roost position bickering.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/shadrach’s-multi-coops.74344/

 

[Sheltiepawz]

Still a work in progress but my nest boxes are going under the poop board to save room. The poop board is sweet pdz and play sand for easy cleaning. We get some cold temps here during the winter and I wanted to be sure they had the rest of the “coop” to move about on days they don’t want to go out. When I started this project I had 20 (4 chicks) but I lost 5 to a predator. The coop is bigger than I thought so I’ll be adding more in the spring lol chicken math. I figured I had enough elbow room for 24 birds as I thought the shed was 8x12. It’s 10x10 I had to convince hubby that the extra room means 1 extra bird lmbo

Thank you for the picture. It really helps. Now it just made me realize another issue. I have to be able to get to my poop board . My coop ended up a lot higher than I wanted it. Going to buy a step stool today lol!
Good luck with your chicken math!