Roost & Run Question

[abgarner0303]

My girls are 3 months old and have graduated from their "Mini Coop" to their large coop. The coop is an 8x10ft enclosure with a 10x20ft run. I am having some trouble with my girls going inside the coop on their own at night but have read several forums and have some good advice to try; a night light & if that doesn't work I'll try locking them in there for a couple days. My questions are as follows:

1. Once the girls learn to go in the coop at night, is it still necessary or should I still close the coop door that goes into the run?

2. My roosts are about 6in wide "shelves." Are these too wide for the chickens to roost on? They do not touch the wall. I have attached pictures to show you. I can put some "perches" with either 2"x4" or some tree branches over top of them if needed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. Once the girls learn to go in the coop at night, is it still necessary or should I still close the coop door that goes into the run?

Depends on how confident you are about the run being totally predator proof. Locking them in the coop adds an extra layer of protection, but many people have enough confidence in their run to leave the pop door open.

2. My roosts are about 6in wide "shelves." Are these too wide for the chickens to roost on? They do not touch the wall. I have attached pictures to show you. I can put some "perches" with either 2"x4" or some tree branches over top of them if needed.

Chickens will roost on anything from the narrow or wide side of a 2x4, tree branches, or a whole lot of other things. One poster this morning had chickens roosting on ¾” PVC wrapped in duct tape and reinforced to stop sag. I don’t recommend PVC but it was working. They will be OK on your 6” wide shelves. It’s possible but not all they likely that poop might accumulate so you might need to occasionally scrape that off if it builds up, but I would not really expect that to happen. People tend to care a lot more about this than the chickens do.

 

[JackE]

I would lock them in for a couple of weeks, to really imprint on them, that the coop is home, and the place to go at night. If you believe your run is predator proof, you can probably just leave the pop door open. I leave my coop's open. It is surrounded with electrified poultry net. There may be an outside chance for an owl attack. But the door has been open now for over two years, with no problem.
I have read where roosts that are too wide, can deform the birds breast bone. A 6" wide board, I think, may be too wide. I'd go with 2X4"s. Also, it looks like the roosts are too close to the walls. Get them at least a foot or so from the walls. Otherwise, they'll crap all over the walls, and may rough up their tail feathers from jamming up against the wall. And make sure the roosts are higher than the nest boxes, or the chickens may just roost in the boxes, and make a real mess of them.