small henhouse re-design per your comments - pics

[cptbahama]

Hiya
I posted some pics earlier and got some comments on the set-up in the henhouse. I changed things around a bit and just wanted to re-post.
The original orientation of the roosts were too high, not giving the chickens enough headroom. Also, they were not oriented in a fashion to make it easy to have poop boards under them. Another concern I heard was the top roost was too close to the window (which now all have close able doors) which could draft the chickens on the roosts. Also I heard chickens on the top roost could poop on chickens coming through the pop door.

Here are some before pics:

The nest box in this pic was removable, meaning it had a mounting bracket on the wall where it could be lifted off. But it took up too much room in the henhouse. Someone mentioned an exterior nest box so I decided to construct a couple of those.

Here are the after pics.

I have about 13 total feet of roost space. Do the steps up to the roosts look sufficient?

It's not completely finished, the hardware cloth hasn't been installed around the windows and around the run yet but the painting needs finished...

Also, I was wondering; do you think the chickens will use this nest box under the henhouse (but contained in the enclosed run)? I added it just to give them some choices.

There are more pics of the whole structure on my page if you're curious to what the rest looks like. Remember not quite finished though..

I've learned so much from you all. Thanks a bunch for your comments. Please keep them coming.

~cptbahama

 

[elmo]

Looking good!

Couple thoughts. What kind of breeds of chickens are you getting? Unless you get some of the ...ehrm..."full figured" gals...the heavy breeds, I wonder whether your chickens will even need the step up to the roosts. How high are the roosts anyway? Can't be more than 2 feet or so, right? A regular size chicken should have no problem getting up and down from those roosts with no step.

Poop boards under the two parallel roosts should be easy for you to slide right out. But what about the bar perpendicular to the parallel roost on the right side? If a chicken can roost somewhere, they will, and if they can roost there, they'll poop there. Something to think about.

And while we're on that subject, it looks like there are window shutters on the small window on the right side of the coop that open inward. You might want to rethink that and put the shutters on the outside of the coop, for two reasons. Some silly chicken will probably try to perch on top of those shutters, never mind that there's no room up there. Chickens naturally try to roost at the highest spot, no matter how unsuitable otherwise. Secondly, it might be easier for you to open and close the shutters from the outside, rather than from the inside. As it now stands, I think you'd have to reach around from the access door on that side, and it might be difficult to see what you're doing without sticking your head inside the coop, something you may or may not want to be doing. I don't know, just something to think about.

It's nice to give your chickens options about where to lay. I've noticed that members of my flock do have definite individual preferences. The only thing you might consider is how easy or hard it will be for you to check that nestbox under the coop for eggs, and to clean it out periodically, as you will no doubt want to do. That's one reason I like using portable plastic nestboxes so much. They're super easy to clean. One thing you might do is find a plastic tray or bin about the same size as your nestboxes and use them as nestbox liners. When you want to clean the box, you could just pull out the bin, dump it in your composter, put in fresh bedding and replace.

 

[MamaChic21]

looks really great, nice job

 

[shadetreehens]

That's a great looking coop! The extra nest box is a nice touch. A few of my girls consistently lay on the floor,so maybe you won't have that issue with the other option. I like the easy access of your outside nest boxes, liners will make a big difference in ease of cleanup. Even empty feed bags will work and there always available!

 

[Patricia Jane]

Looking real nice. It's great how you have asked questions and made some changes. It will definatley help you in the long run.

 

[cptbahama]

Thank you all I really appreciate your help and comments.

I do have the full size standard hens (well, they're just a few weeks old now but...). If they don't need the "step" up, will it hurt anything being there? I just figured that the more things for them to play on, the better. I do realize it's also more places for them to deposit their, um, deposits.
The roosts are all on the same level and are about 16 or 18" off the floor of the henhouse. I have shorter poop boards under the roosts perpendicular to the long ones. They were made after the latest round of pics so you don't see them here.
You're right about reaching around from the access door to close the "shutters". I can reach them from that door. I can't put them on the outside because of the trim work out there (hey, it has to be pretty too!). I like to think of them more as "dampers" though. I will only be closing them probably in the winter but even in the winter I may be leaving them open for ventilation.
I never even thought about them trying to roost on those shutters. I will have to figure out a way to fix them to the inside of the wall so they don't hang out and offer a tempting roost spot.
I'm attaching a pic with arrows showing where the exterior nest boxes are in relation to the extra nest box below the henhouse. I think from where I access the exterior nest boxes, I should be able to glance down into the extra nest box and see if there is an egg in it. If so, I built the door adjacent to it to open so I can replace the waterer and feeders (see hooks for them) and grab an egg out of that nest box. I cut the side out of the nest box so I can reach into it easier. I won't want to reach into there without looking though, there could be a rat snake! That would pretty much suck.

I'm picking up a cubic yard of sand this weekend to put in the run.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
No, I don't think there's any problem with having the "step up" in there. If it gets in your way, just be aware that you can probably do without it. I'm always tinkering with my setup as time goes on and I experience how things work.

If your hardware cloth has 1/2" by 1/2" inch openings, the good news is that it's going to be a pretty small rat snake to get inside your run. A snake that small better look out for chickens! One of our tiny bantams found a small garden snake (only about 4 inches long). She pounced on it, threw it violently to the ground a couple of times, then slurped it up like a noodle.

By the way, are you going to put a hardware cloth apron around your coop and run to deter predators from digging in?

p.s. I just notice the thermometer on the side of the coop. Nice idea, but maybe you should put it on the inside of the coop, instead? I have a remote temperature sensor in my coop so I can check on the winter temps all through the night without having to get out of bed.

 

[cptbahama]

Ha! I love the story of the hen slurping the baby worm snake. That's awesome.
Yes, there are two thermometers. One on the outside and one on the inside. I take this kind of thing a little too seriously... (so I've been told). I like USA made thermometers and I shop for them on eBay. This pic shows the inside thermometer...

We buried two layers of some old chicken wire underneath the footprint of the coop before the construction of the coop. You can see those pics on my page.