Roost bar and poop board depth question

[ValerieJ]

I use this to clean the poop board scraper/sifter in one. Works really well.
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That’s pretty clever.

 

[aart]

I use this to clean the poop board scraper/sifter in one. Works really well.

What size is the mesh?

 

[DoeAndGander]

What size is the mesh?

And how do you ‘scoop’ the poo? Perhaps a video? I may need to make one of my own

 

[Chad Oftedal]

True Dat!
With poop boards they don't need that 'extra' room to spread wings to fly up.

Hi @aart - I just wanted to circle back here because I think I might learn something on this one point. Is the 1 foot per bird guideline meant for access to the roosting bar and not for when they are actually settled in and roosted for the night? My thinking was always that the 1 ft guideline was for them while on the roost bar at night giving them ample "personal bird" space. If it is more for access in non-poop board setups, then presumably with my poop board setup, I've got enough roost space for a small army of chickens. I'm not expanding or anything because of other run space, too many eggs, etc. Just thinking through if I ever wanted more elbow room in the coop if I could take down the side wall poop board section and just have the one along the back wall.

 

[ValerieJ]

And how do you ‘scoop’ the poo? Perhaps a video? I may need to make one of my own

Looks like rooster ml uses it as the scoop itself. I’m thinking of making one too.

 

[ValerieJ]

Hi @aart - I just wanted to circle back here because I think I might learn something on this one point. Is the 1 foot per bird guideline meant for access to the roosting bar and not for when they are actually settled in and roosted for the night? My thinking was always that the 1 ft guideline was for them while on the roost bar at night giving them ample "personal bird" space. If it is more for access in non-poop board setups, then presumably with my poop board setup, I've got enough roost space for a small army of chickens. I'm not expanding or anything because of other run space, too many eggs, etc. Just thinking through if I ever wanted more elbow room in the coop if I could take down the side wall poop board section and just have the one along the back wall.

I was thinking the same thing. If I don’t need 12” roost space per bird and they will all be the same height then perhaps my one roost that’s 10’ long would be enough for my 12 chickens.

 

[aart]

Hi @aart - I just wanted to circle back here because I think I might learn something on this one point. Is the 1 foot per bird guideline meant for access to the roosting bar and not for when they are actually settled in and roosted for the night? My thinking was always that the 1 ft guideline was for them while on the roost bar at night giving them ample "personal bird" space. If it is more for access in non-poop board setups, then presumably with my poop board setup, I've got enough roost space for a small army of chickens. I'm not expanding or anything because of other run space, too many eggs, etc. Just thinking through if I ever wanted more elbow room in the coop if I could take down the side wall poop board section and just have the one along the back wall.

Ehh...maybe a bit of both. Some recommend 9" per bird. They do tend to crowd together to sleep, sometimes even when it's hot, but then they can also spread apart during molting time.
One of those 'hard numbers' don't always fit for live animals...always be open to flexibility. So yeah, you could remove part of your roost capacity if you observe they don't need it.

 

[aart]

I was thinking the same thing. If I don’t need 12” roost space per bird and they will all be the same height then perhaps my one roost that’s 10’ long would be enough for my 12 chickens.

Could always add the second one later...that's what I did.

 

[Chad Oftedal]

Ehh...maybe a bit of both. Some recommend 9" per bird. They do tend to crowd together to sleep, sometimes even when it's hot, but then they can also spread apart during molting time.
One of those 'hard numbers' don't always fit for live animals...always be open to flexibility. So yeah, you could remove part of your roost capacity if you observe they don't need it.

Cool. I'm a big proponent of happy birds with lots of room, so I don't know that I'd make that change anyway, just trying to be as educated as I can on it.

 

[RoosterML]

What size is the mesh?

1/4”x1/4”