Roost bar and poop board depth question

[RoosterML]

I agree 12” from wall is nice and if doing 2 roost bars going about 20” apart and 12” higher works great so they can not pick on who ever is on the roost in front of them.

 

[ValerieJ]

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.

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

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.

Great idea with the basket. I happen to have one of those not being used at the moment. I live your coop. We have done a good deal of copying it.

 

[ValerieJ]

I agree 12” from wall is nice and if doing 2 roost bars going about 20” apart and 12” higher works great so they can not pick on who ever is on the roost in front of them.
View attachment 1961024
View attachment 1961025 View attachment 1961027

Thanks! That's a great visual.

 

[Diana_burns04]

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.

hey I think that's good!!!

 

[aart]

Great idea with the basket. I happen to have one of those not being used at the moment.

It works great, but is kinda fragile....don't dent the mesh and scrape clean after each use. Poop is corrosive as all get out.
I tap it on the roost to get all the PDZ thru, only tapping on the reinforced edges.
Why I put the piece of cedar shim on this side, to protect the mesh from bending/breaking.... and makes it easier to hold onto.

 

[Chad Oftedal]

Here's a shot of the interior of my coop from tonight - taken remotely with the WYZE camera. As @azygous said, you can build them the nicest setup, and they'll end up roosting as they please. In my setup, poop boards are 24" wide. The roost bar cuts down the middle, so 12" from the walls, and 12" from the front edges. The bars are about 8" above the boards. If you use the guide of 1 ft of roost space per bird, I have 16 ft of roost space. As we can see 4 birds have squished themselves on one end in the lower right corner. Two other birds have picked the end corners - basically, a good 7-8 feet from each other (lower left corner and upper left corner of pic). Finally, two knuckleheads are using the nest box. One that you can't see is inside the nest box, and her buddy is sitting there on the entrance perch into the nest box. Usually, I remember to put the bar up so they can't use the box, but I forgot tonight, and those two clowns take advantage every time. Anyway, the fun point being, they will find their own way to make use of what you've built. I'm glad I went with the recommended guidelines in my planning as far as space per bird, and my walls are clean with the roost 12" from the wall. Only other point to add - and this is just what I saw in reading, not personal experience- some larger roosters with more extravagant tails may like a bit more space than 12" from the wall. This wasn't an issue for me as I'm just keeping hens, but, for what it's worth, I saw that mentioned a couple times in my research. I can't vouch for the practicality of it.

 

[azygous]

My roosters both face the wall so their long tails trail over the edge of the poop boards. Never have seen them face the other way.

Here's a riddle. How many chickens can cram into the last four feet of roost space? Answer: Fourteen. Saw this last night after the flock went to bed scared of a predator lurking outside.

 

[Cryss]

My poop boards are 2ft wide with 1x5 roost, wide side up (it was laying around free) runs right through the middle and is 8 inches above the poop board. Works great.

 

[ValerieJ]

Here's a shot of the interior of my coop from tonight - taken remotely with the WYZE camera. As @azygous said, you can build them the nicest setup, and they'll end up roosting as they please. In my setup, poop boards are 24" wide. The roost bar cuts down the middle, so 12" from the walls, and 12" from the front edges. The bars are about 8" above the boards. If you use the guide of 1 ft of roost space per bird, I have 16 ft of roost space. As we can see 4 birds have squished themselves on one end in the lower right corner. Two other birds have picked the end corners - basically, a good 7-8 feet from each other (lower left corner and upper left corner of pic). Finally, two knuckleheads are using the nest box. One that you can't see is inside the nest box, and her buddy is sitting there on the entrance perch into the nest box. Usually, I remember to put the bar up so they can't use the box, but I forgot tonight, and those two clowns take advantage every time. Anyway, the fun point being, they will find their own way to make use of what you've built. I'm glad I went with the recommended guidelines in my planning as far as space per bird, and my walls are clean with the roost 12" from the wall. Only other point to add - and this is just what I saw in reading, not personal experience- some larger roosters with more extravagant tails may like a bit more space than 12" from the wall. This wasn't an issue for me as I'm just keeping hens, but, for what it's worth, I saw that mentioned a couple times in my research. I can't vouch for the practicality of it.

View attachment 1961254

Oh man, chickens are such characters. Thanks for the picture of your coop. Good point about the rooster tails.

 

[ValerieJ]

My poop boards are 2ft wide with 1x5 roost, wide side up (it was laying around free) runs right through the middle and is 8 inches above the poop board. Works great.
View attachment 1961299

Looks perfect.