Roost Question

[frjeff]

I have lowered my roost board (per suggestions here) so that it is very low. The advice was to do so to keep the birds from dust bathing in the Sweet PDZ in the poop trays beneath the roost.

However, my roost in now significantly lower than the nesting boxes. Will the birds now want to roost in the higher nesting boxes?

 

[Cknldy]

Probably. Even the poultry books written in 1917 have putting the roosts 3 feet off of the ground but I think those are assuming dirt floors. I use sawdust under the roosts in my coops that don't have dirt floors under roosts. Scoop each morning and the sawdust is basically clean most of the day so it doesn't matter if they dust bathe in it. Do you have another area set up for dust bathing for them? You could try to make it more enticing for them to use the dusting area instead of under the roost by adding loose dirt, ashes, etc. Good luck!;-)

 

[4 the Birds]

I have lowered my roost board (per suggestions here) so that it is very low. The advice was to do so to keep the birds from dust bathing in the Sweet PDZ in the poop trays beneath the roost.

However, my roost in now significantly lower than the nesting boxes. Will the birds now want to roost in the higher nesting boxes?

Most new coop builders will put their roost bar way too high but in your case I would say that it is too low. Up another foot or so would be better and the birds would love to sit on the bar and look out the window. It would be easy enough to add a ramp at one end so the birds can walk up to the bar (mine use the ramp to go up but usually just jump down from the bar). Ventilation up high and away from the bar would be best instead of through a window onto the roost bar (it looks like you have nice big vent opening up high). The poop board can stay down at floor level but you can utilize the space under the poop board if it was raised up to 6 inches or so below the bar. My chickens dig holes and dust bathe on the coop floor, in the run, or outside in the dirt.