Suggestions please! Poop board & multiple roosts

[DoeAndGander]

Looking for suggestions!

1. Poop board height and depth (for at least 2 -2x4 roosts). Would like to use area underneath for hospital area/brooder/hang food if needed. It will run wall to wall (10 ft) I have about 6 feet from back wall to walk in area. About how much space do they need to land? Will have a ladder going up too.

2. Roost heights and depths! This is actually my guinea coop but same concept of chickens. 9 guineas total. I would like the top roost to be somewhat higher being that they love to be high and in trees. I keep going back-and-forth what height that should be. I do know top roost should be a foot from the back wall and to be careful with drafts from back window. I’d like enough space between the two so they don’t get bombed with poo from above and prevent lower hens from getting picked on.

Current non finished coop:

Poop board/roost inspiration:

 

[Ridgerunner]

For roost height I determine the top of my bedding, then install the nests. The roost height is then as low as I can get it and still be noticeably higher than the nests. At least 6" higher if the nests and roosts are pretty close together, a foot if they are separated by much horizontal distance.

I'll show what I did. That's my brooder under the roosts. It doesn't look like it but those two tree branches are pretty much the same height and about a foot above the top of my brooder. The first one is about a foot from the wall, the second a foot from that. The brooder top is 3' wide. That catches the poop no matter which direction they face on the roosts. I use a garden hoe with a broken (short) handle to scrape it.

Then I put a juvenile roost over my nests. You can see the brooder off to the right for height comparisons. This is one of those modifications I made to solve a roosting in the nest problem with juveniles. The outside edge of the nests are 16" from wall and the roosts are about a foot from the wall. They do not always catch all the poop if the birds are facing the wrong way. You can see that this roost is only about 6" higher than the nests.

For your roosts I'd suggest the first a foot from the wall horizontally with the second a foot horizontally from that, that should prevent the higher ones form pooping on the lower ones. Six inches should be enough difference in height between the two roosts. I'd make the top of your brooder/hospital area three feet wide total. The roosts do not need to be a foot higher than the top of the brooder, but you need to eave enough room to scrape under the roosts. With the top three feet wide you will need some tool with a handle unless you wan to lean on that poopy top.

That will not be enough horizontal separation to keep the bullies from pecking the lower roosting birds but that is usually not a problem. The lower ones getting picked on (if it happens, usually does not) can move to the other end of the roost.

I don't know how much clear room they actually need to land. That's why I suggest making the roosts a low as you reasonable can. The lower they are the less room they need.