roost demsions and nest box heights

[GreenSoul]

We are designing our coop we are trying to decide a few things. It is a shed/garage that is attached to our house with two windows so it has lots of ventilation, sound structure and very secure. It has cement floors, do the nest boxes still need to be off the ground? Roosts just need to be higher then nest boxes if i understand it right and need one liner foot per bird so if we have 10 chickens we need 10 feet. We are planning to do poop boards and want to do two rows to make it easier area to heat in the winter too. how far apart should row one be from row two?

 

[jetdog]

My space is a lot smaller than yours but my boxes are 14 inches off the floor and the boxes are 14 x14, roost and poop board on top, the roost is a 2x4 laying flat so they can cover their toes in the winter, 1 ft per bird and spaced apart 1 ft, do not heat the coop they don't need any heat more ventilation of fresh air is more important than heat, I don't heat my coop and with temps in the -20 they did just fine with their god given down jackets.

 

[blucoondawg]

I agree don't heat, and 2 windows may or may not be enough ventilation, the best ventilation for a coop is near the roof where the warm damp air rises and can then escape, windows aren't very high, maybe ad find a fan in a window would be good. If you are only going with 10 birds you should be OK. Your roost and nest dimensions are a good starting point just ad more if you notice any issues

 

[GreenSoul]

The shed is an old wood working shed surprising it is a very short ceiling only about six feet tall and the windows are at the top of the walls. I will try to post a picture later. So the boards should have one foot of space between them from front to back, that is what i was thinking seemed logical with one foot long for them. Is it necessary for the boxes to be off the ground or is that just what you choose to do? Why would you say no heat for them in the winter?

 

[blucoondawg]

They don't need heat just like weeks birds don't need heat. Heat adds expense and fire danger along with compounding moisture and health issues. Also your birds won't get acclimated to the cold and if you have a power outage they will be even worse off than if they are allowed to acclimate.

 

[jetdog]

If your boxes are off the ground it prevents dirty bedding and poop from getting kicked in the boxes, just put a board in front so they can hop up to access them it also doesn't cut into your floor space.

 

[GreenSoul]

OK that makes a lot of sense about the heat, thank you for explaining. Ok we have a lot of floor space in the room much much more then needed for out birds and double that actually if I remember measurements right.