Roosts

[5peeps]

Ok ,
I was reading on one of the roost post and noticed that people say to have the roost higher then the nest or you get poopie egg . At the moment my roost are about 3in. higher is this enough or should the roost be higher .

One other thing I wanted to us calking around the bottom of the coop will they leave this alone or if they eat it will it hurt them ?

Thanks
Will

 

[msrma7670]

TO answer your first question id depends on how you set your coop up. I have made a 20 ft x 15 ft coop one one wall the nest boxes but i slanted them to discurage them from roosting above them b/c they will roos above your box if you let them. I would say as a general rule if you have the room yes roost should be higher than the nest boxes just keep in mind how and where they will poop. Normaly hens wont poop in the nest boxes at least mine dont.


second question if they are bored they will eat it scrath it and play with it . I would not give them oppertunity but why are you using calk for? Warmth?

 

[5peeps]

I have the roost on the left side and the nesting boxes are built on the out side of the coop .

The calking is for the bottom I have vinyl flooring and when I clean the coop I don't want water to get under the walls .

 

[Timmo]

I saw your coop thread, it's looking great. If you're concerned about the roost height, go ahead and move them up some. I probably would, myself, but I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert. From your pics, it looks like it would be easy to do. The birds like to be high and they only need maybe 18 inches of clearance from the roost to the roof, if that... I've seen pics of people's coops that had nice roosts in them and the birds flew all the way up to roost in the rafters instead.

 

[5peeps]

Quote:
wow I had them at 2 feet and thought it was to how so I moved them down , and you are right I tried to make it so they were easy to move and replace .

Thanks for you help

 

[Timmo]

If your wall is 4' (I'm guessing) and you put it back at 2' or 2'2", I'd say you'd be fine. The top of your nesting area doesn't look like it goes past the half-way point.

As to the caulking, could you maybe put a fine bead along the outside seam? It wouldn't be right in front of them to peck at if you could. I know hind-sight is 20/20, but a shot of wood-glue between the baseplate and the floor might have been the answer. I'll have to keep that in mind when I tackle my mom's new backyard 4-bird coop. I'll probably toss something together similar to yours. Great job! For a handfull of backyard birds, coops like yours are the way to go.

 

[5peeps]

Quote:
Thanks for your comments
The coop is 4 feet x 4 feet and 2 feet off the ground .
The nesting boxes start at 8in from the floor , and after reading your post it made me think of something else I could do is glue and nail a small piece of trim around it .

Thanks