Spacing between roost bars...

[Mimi13]

If I am working with a 24 inch deep poop board, what would folks say is the ideal spacing between two parallel roost bars? I know the suggested spacing is 12 inches from the front of poop board and/or back wall, and therefore putting one bar smack dab in the middle of the 24 inches would meet that criteria, but I am hoping to squeeze two bars in there. Do you think I can get away with something like 8 inches in from the front, and 8 inches in from the back wall?

These would be on the same level as each other, but I suppose I could elevate the "back" bar if that might allow closer spacing to each other.

I thought and did the very thing you are talking about and the answer is simply this. If you put them that close together you will be moving them apart in the near future. I literally put the first roost 12” from the wall and then 12” in between the two roosts, over a 3’ poop board.

Works fine until the chicks are about 4-5 months old.

When young and especially in warmer weather the birds’ heads just hang down when roosting, in prime position for either their heads, or tail feathers, to get pooped on. Then as they get older some of them do not want any tail feathers remotely touching them. (Think kids and the “He’s touching me!” scenario.)
I wound up making my droppings board 4’ wide, making spacing between wall and both roosts 15”. In addition, I lowered the whole kit and kaboodle between 6”-8”.

There is just enough room for the outer roost’s poops to fall on the droppings board. It is a stretch for me to reach and scrape the back of the board, but that’s why I keep a rubber apron in the coop. If I’ve got clothes on that I don’t want possibly soiled I will slip the apron on. Usually though I don’t care. I am a chicken lady after all.

 

[aart]

I should take pic tonite,
my current 18 birds sleep on about 6' of the 11' available on main roosts/boards,
they use it all before getting settled tho.

Yep, they really squeeze in there, 7 birds on that 4' roost.
Surprisingly they don't spread out much even when it's hot in summer.

 

[Mimi13]

Yep, they really squeeze in there, 7 birds on that 4' roost.
Surprisingly they don't spread out much even when it's hot in summer.
View attachment 1623180

It is amazing how they all scrunch up. Some of my birds do but then others wouldn’t be caught dead next to another bird - mostly my older hens. Those gals want their space...and they usually get it.

I’m trying to load pics of mine but it’s not downloading while traveling. Technology? Ugh! No really, it amazes me!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Really enjoying this thread because I like hearing and seeing others' set ups. Helps me make decisions for mine.

I currently have a 24" board with the roost centered. I didn't plan out that way. It just happened to be the size of plywood I had left over after making the coop - LOL! I have big breeds, but only 4 pullets. They take up fewer than half of the 4 ft they have at their disposal. My cochin likes to sleep on the board, but she ends up being pooped on. Ew. So I put her on the roost every night. She tries to crawl under the others, though. It's hilarious. I will try to get a video of it one of these nights if I remember.

I have thought about giving her her own roost or some sort of platform or something, but I was worried about poop on the wall or having her sleep in her own waste. Good to hear about spacing. It'll help me configure things better.

 

[cmom]

I should take pic tonite,
my current 18 birds sleep on about 6' of the 11' available on main roosts/boards,
they use it all before getting settled tho.

Yep, they really squeeze in there, 7 birds on that 4' roost.
Surprisingly they don't spread out much even when it's hot in summer.
View attachment 1623180

I love these posts. My birds do the same thing and all want to be close to each other even during the hot summer months here, just like they all want to lay their eggs in the same nest boxes. They have a whole roost that is almost empty.

 

[aart]

My cochin likes to sleep on the board, but she ends up being pooped on.

Haven't seen any terrible 'pooped on' scenarios, most of it just rolls off....
....luckily the birds who tend to have juicy poops roost down low too.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Haven't seen any terrible 'pooped on' scenarios, most of it just rolls off....
....luckily the birds who tend to have juicy poops roost down low too.

It wouldn't be so bad except she's pure white and oh-so-pretty. I like to keep her clean (though her feet are icky right now from free ranging in the rain).

And being a cochin, she's all feather. If it gets under her fluff, it is hard to get out again. Ew.

 

[jthornton]

Chicken math hits often, but the plan for this is to house about 6 or 7 chickens. Hence why my 5 foot table starts to worry me with only 5 feet of roost.

My roosts are about a foot above the floor of the roost area, and I often have 6-7 full size RIR hens on one 4' roost. The higher up the roost from the floor the more room they need to fly up and land, in my case they just hop up and I've seen 9 on 4' with the 10th trying to fit in a few times when they were pullets and I had a roo.

JT

 

[paneubert]

My roosts are about a foot above the floor of the roost area, and I often have 6-7 full size RIR hens on one 4' roost. The higher up the roost from the floor the more room they need to fly up and land, in my case they just hop up and I've seen 9 on 4' with the 10th trying to fit in a few times when they were pullets and I had a roo.

JT

Good to know. The table is 29 inches high. Depending on how I orient it in the coop, I am going to either have a ramp up to the poop board level, or figure out some sort of intermediate jumping/landing points. Depends on how much clearance I have in front of the table.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have ramps for my big girls (the ramps have treads - I was measuring in this pic). The one to the left goes to my board/roost. The one on the right goes to the nesting boxes. I had to get creative because my coop is small.