Roost question.

[Emily_loveschickens]

That picture is the old roosts

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

I am fixing them so they are straight across. I’ll get some more measurements and pictures.

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

They don't need a ramp to get up, they can just jump.

More concerned that it looks like you put roost bars over your nest boxes? That's going to lead to a lot of dirty nests and eggs.

I I noticed that too but I didn’t make this Coop. Got it cause it was cheap and pretty well made

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

They don't need a ramp to get up, they can just jump.

More concerned that it looks like you put roost bars over your nest boxes? That's going to lead to a lot of dirty nests and eggs.

What can I do about that?

 

[Coops Dad]

I have roosts 4' off the ground and some of the chickens use them. Most prefer to roost on top of the coops which are 5-1/2 feet off the ground, but one rooster and his harem tend to gather on top of a brooder which is 3-1/2' tall topped with 1/2" hardware cloth. All of this is inside a 20'x40' tractor shed which is open at one end and has a 12' ceiling. All our chickens are standards; RIRs, New Hampshires, Ameraucanas, BCMs, a few other similarly sized birds and one lone old White Leghorn who refuses to be snatched up by the local hawks or owls.

There's no telling what a chicken or group of them will decide is their best option. This forum is replete with tales of chickens obstinately refusing to utilize the best planned amenities of their very well designed quarters. My RIRs won't even consider the myriad nest box options available to them, preferring to make primitive nests in the grass under the trash trailer or in the haunted doghouse (long story but Luna aka Murder Dog raises her hackles, growls and glares suspiciously into the doghouse if she has to pass by it. I bought it at an estate sale, disinfected it with bleach and Dawn dishwashing liquid and painted it inside and out long before Luna joined our home, so it's not like it smells strange). Loonie hates it but the RIRs think it's prime real estate. The doorway is this wide- *...* and I'm this wide- *.....* so I hate RIRs.

 

[Coops Dad]

What can I do about that?

Put a plywood cover over the nest boxes or relocate the roost bar.

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

I was thinking of making like a mini plywood roof to go over the nest boxes

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

It is about 2 feet from the roost to the wall

 

[3KillerBs]

It is about 2 feet from the roost to the wall

Then the roost probably shouldn't be more than 18" off the ground -- flight distance plus enough space to land.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What can I do about that?

Put a plywood cover over the nest boxes or relocate the roost bar.

x2. Either move the roosts so they're parallel to the nests (due to the narrowness of the space, you'll need to drop them lower to the ground so that the birds have adequate landing space when they jump off the roost) or put an extended cover over the nest boxes, and you'll need to sift or scrape poop off those like you would a poop board.