Roost design

[mossyoakpro]

Forgive me for the constant questions on things but I am trying to get everything ready for my first batch of chickens in the spring....my coop is a renovated farm shed/barn that I have busted my rear trying to get ready. LOL Anyway I am almost to the finish line...my auto door arrives this week and I will start on the interior with the bedding and such. I have been looking for roost ideas and have gotten some from here but I ran across this when digging around...is there any pros or cons to this design? It would actually work fantastic for my setup being that it is a rectangular shape but I thought there had to be higher bars for the bosses to get on? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Forgive me for the constant questions on things but I am trying to get everything ready for my first batch of chickens in the spring....my coop is a renovated farm shed/barn that I have busted my rear trying to get ready. LOL Anyway I am almost to the finish line...my auto door arrives this week and I will start on the interior with the bedding and such. I have been looking for roost ideas and have gotten some from here but I ran across this when digging around...is there any pros or cons to this design? It would actually work fantastic for my setup being that it is a rectangular shape but I thought there had to be higher bars for the bosses to get on? Thanks in advance!!

That is a good design , other than the fact that those are round sticks placed too close together , which will make them a pain to clean.

 

[Ridgeback825]

I have a small flock that has been, and will be, added to. So I used 2x3s and have 2 levels. I planned my layout for where all the droppings will fall and my only regret is that our hen house is small with perches close to the walls. This allows them to poop down the side of the walls. My best advice is to plan for the poop!

 

[mossyoakpro]

That is a good design , other than the fact that those are round sticks placed too close together , which will make them a pain to clean.

I was thinking that too...maybe 15 inches or so apart??

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

I was thinking that too...maybe 15 inches or so apart??

Yes. That way, when your hens poop, it will all go onto the ground below, and you won’t have to try to clean each and every one of those rungs! Even a foot apart would be good!

 

[mossyoakpro]

Yes. That way, when your hens poop, it will all go onto the ground below, and you won’t have to try to clean each and every one of those rungs!

Thank you!! I think I'm going to go this route since I have a window on one side for the summer heat and a solid wall on the other so they can congregate over there in the winter. I'll build a ladder for them to access it and hinge it so I can get the poop boards out from under the roost.

 

[3KillerBs]

I was thinking that too...maybe 15 inches or so apart??

Honestly, I think those bars are way too densely placed. You want them far enough apart that the birds on one roost can't reach the others to peck at them..

For a walk in coop I like roosts arranged in an L or a U so that I can walk up to any bird and do an off-the-roost welfare check.

 

[mossyoakpro]

Honestly, I think those bars are way too densely placed. You want them far enough apart that the birds on one roost can't reach the others to peck at them..

For a walk in coop I like roosts arranged in an L or a U so that I can walk up to any bird and do an off-the-roost welfare check.

I could do a U or an L either one with my setup...where do you place the amp for them to climb up? I'm assuming they all go up on the ramp then disperse to their favorite spots on the roost??

 

[aart]

I could do a U or an L either one with my setup...where do you place the amp for them to climb up? I'm assuming they all go up on the ramp then disperse to their favorite spots on the roost??

Maybe I missed it, but how big is your coop, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help us help you.

 

[3KillerBs]

I could do a U or an L either one with my setup...where do you place the amp for them to climb up? I'm assuming they all go up on the ramp then disperse to their favorite spots on the roost??

Most of the time the birds fly up and down from their roosts, though some breeds and/or individual birds are poor flyers and need a ramp. I do have a ramp in my coop that gives them access to both one end of the roost and to the nests since I had a Brahma who flew like a concrete block.

Maybe I missed it, but how big is your coop, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help us help you.

Yes, this information would indeed help.

And the number of chickens in question.

If you have it on another thread, I have trouble remembering these details from one thread to another.