Roost bar and poop board depth question

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ValerieJ

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DH is designing our new coop today, or starting it anyway. I think I read somewhere that the roosting bar should be 2' from the wall. If that is so, does the poop board need to be 4'? Also, is a foot off the poop board high enough for the roost bar? In order to have windows that do not blow onto roosting bars, we are thinking they'll be 3' high and 4' off the ground.

What has worked for you? The overall dimensions will be 8x10 for the coop; attached secure run enclosure will be 10x12, but they'll still have free range privileges in the orchard, which is pretty secure. I just need a totally secure place for high danger times.
 
Perches two feet from the wall is fine, and so is one foot. Any closer, you'll have poopy walls.

The poop board just needs to be positioned so it covers a foot on each side of the perch to accommodate chickens facing in either direction. Some new chicken keepers have the notion their chickens will all roost like a platoon of marines, all facing the same way.

I don't think it matters a lot how far the poop board is from the perch. Mine are around sixteen inches.
 
I agree with Azygous. The rule of thumb is a minimum of 12" off the wall and if you have a second one, a minimum of 12" apart. And yes, droppings boards a minimum of 12" on either side of the roost. More room won't hurt but it will take up more coop space. That may make it awkward for you.

It's good that you are thinking about the windows and wind blowing on the roosts. The main rules for height is that the roosts need to be higher than the nests so they sleep on the roosts instead of in the nests. The criteria for me for height of the roost over the droppings board is that you need to be able to clean the droppings board. Are you going to scrape the droppings off or will you build a tray filled with something and scoop them? If you scrape, what with? If you scoop, what with? How much room do you need to do that without getting poop on your clothing? That's something else to consider in determining the width of the droppings board, how do you clean it. Four feet is a lot further to reach across than three feet, let alone two feet.

My droppings board is 3' wide but I have double roosts. I have about 8" to 9" between the top of the board and the bottom of the tree limb roosts. I use a garden hoe with a broken handle to scrape mine into a bin. With a full length hoe handle I'd be banging into things. My board is a flat sheet of plywood.
 
5B889AEF-1A47-460C-8D0A-9C9B82711EAB.jpeg

This is what mine looks like.
 

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I agree with Azygous. The rule of thumb is a minimum of 12" off the wall and if you have a second one, a minimum of 12" apart. And yes, droppings boards a minimum of 12" on either side of the roost. More room won't hurt but it will take up more coop space. That may make it awkward for you.

It's good that you are thinking about the windows and wind blowing on the roosts. The main rules for height is that the roosts need to be higher than the nests so they sleep on the roosts instead of in the nests. The criteria for me for height of the roost over the droppings board is that you need to be able to clean the droppings board. Are you going to scrape the droppings off or will you build a tray filled with something and scoop them? If you scrape, what with? If you scoop, what with? How much room do you need to do that without getting poop on your clothing? That's something else to consider in determining the width of the droppings board, how do you clean it. Four feet is a lot further to reach across than three feet, let alone two feet.

My droppings board is 3' wide but I have double roosts. I have about 8" to 9" between the top of the board and the bottom of the tree limb roosts. I use a garden hoe with a broken handle to scrape mine into a bin. With a full length hoe handle I'd be banging into things. My board is a flat sheet of plywood.
Thanks so much for the advice @Ridgerunner ! We are planning on the poop board being a tray to hold sand and/or PDZ. I'm not sure yet what I'll use to scoop it out. I was thinking of a cat litter scoop. Yes it will be so much easier to clean it if it's not so wide.
 
I use a garden hoe with a broken handle
I saved a broken hoe for years, then cut off handle to about 15" for poop board.
Works Great!

I go shallow(<1/8") on the PDZ and sift all of it every day or two...adding a bit more PDZ when needed...rather than deeper getting saturated with pulverized poops.
Have found it to be the most cost effective.
Fine sifter.
full


PDZ leveler...screws later driven down to 1/4" from board.
full


Roosts 8" above boards, enough room for hoe and basket and low enough to eliminate most 'overshoots'. Roost 12" from wall, centered over 24" board.
full
 

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