Two roosts over one board

[PD-Riverman]

If I had to come up with a SQ Ft for a roosting coop only I would say 1 sqft would be plenty to possibly keep from getting to much body heat from the flock during hot summer nights, but keep in mind the coop needs to have plenty of air movement. If you were to build a TIGHT 10x10ft coop and made roost for 100 chickens and put that many in it---they would probably pass out or worse from the heat build up on a real hot summer night. That's why I either build them with a lot of gaps between the boards or with windows on each side to allow a cross wind.

In the pic when I have had 70 or 80 in this coop roosting on those poles---they all will be roosting on the poles in about a 5x7 area----that's only 35 sq ft less than 1/2 sq ft each. But In the winter I would have no problem roosting 70 chickens in 35 sq ft But that coop would be to small in my opinion for summer with that many.

People can say what they want-----but look at my roost pole pic----at 3 sqft each(18 chickens)----if I had 18 chickens inside this coop they ALL would be on the top roost pole with 3 or 4 on the next lower----the coop would look almost empty. AGAIN If they were living/eating/laying in it most all the time---sure I could see allowing them that much space.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I am new to chickens which i will soon be getting and was wondering If have a 12x20 building I will have standard and bantams how many is a good number plus my run is 12x40 thank you

What is your plan? Are they going to be roosting, eating, staying, laying inside this 12x20 most of the time or Just roosting for the night? If staying inside it most of the time go by the 3sq ft rule---that would bean about 80 chickens max. If they are going to only roost in it----unless you planning on a couple hundred + I would divide that space----giving a small roosting coop and use the rest to keep feed and supplies in. How many chickens are you thinking? Shoot I personally lived in a lot less sq ft than your building for 6 years with as many as 8 people(kids and adults) in that space some times on the weekend for the night.

 

[ChickenLady11]

They will be free ranging sometimes and in there run for the most part and go in the coop at night, I am thinking around 75 but i wanted to make sure not to over crowd etc, Thank you for the response i am still learning but have always had a love for chickens.

 

[ChickenLady11]

I also want to add i will have nesting boxes in there as well as roosts

 

[Ridgerunner]

This shows how I did mine. I built a brooder under the roosts and use the top as a droppings board. The brooder did not go all the way across the coop so I put plastic bins in the open space. The top of that brooder is 3’ wide, too far for me to easily reach, so I use a garden hoe with a broken handle to scrape it off into the bins. That broken handle is short enough I don’t break my coop window when I use it.

I also suggest the first roost 12” off the wall and separate them by 12”. The poop board is 12” wider than the outside roost, that catches practically all the poop.

You can put them at different elevations if you want, my tree limbs are not straight so they have varying elevations. I don’t know of any benefit in doing that, if framing is easier at the same height that works fine too. People do both and both work. No need to overthink it, do what’s easiest for you.

I just use the top of that brooder with nothing to absorb the moisture from the poop. Some people build trays and put sand, PDZ, wood shavings, or something else in there. Or use linoleum to make scraping easier. I scrape mine when I need to. How often depends on chicken density and how wet the weather is. With a high chicken density and wet weather I may need to scrape it once a week. With a low chicken density and with really dry weather I often go more than a month between scrapings. If it starts to stink, I waited too long.

Some people scrape daily or use something to strain the poop out daily. There is an unbelievable number of ways you can set yours up. There are many different methods that can work.

 

[sunshinewish]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridgerunner


I like how the branch furthest away from the wall is higher than the other. I'd think that this makes it easier for you to clean the board, no? Do you think if this branch was at the same height of the other, cleaning would continue to be easy? Do your chickens fly up to the first branch or do they fly up to the board and then to the branch? Thanks for your reply. EDIT: my reply is in your quote. I don't know how to fix this. oops

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Quote:
You really have to take into account where you live as well. If you are anywhere that gets heavy snow or flooding, etc and there is the possibility that they won't be going outside for several days on occasion, bigger really is better. And considering so much pooping happens at night, again bigger is better. A poop board will make it easier to clean, but it won't lessen the amount, so unless you want to HAVE to clean up a bunch of poop every day, err on the side of bigger. You will also have more room for birds to get away from each. Even with plenty of space there will still usually be some squabbling over roost positions and such, and there is no need to force the birds into a more stressful living situation than necessary.

You really don't need a house but maybe just a 8x10 room with a cot, a toilet, and a sink.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That’s just the angle of the camera, the roosts are both pretty much at the same level. I have plenty of room for the garden hoe to go in below them, it’s pretty easy to scrape.

I’ll never get it really clean, something is going to stick since it is unpainted plywood. That would bother some people, obviously it doesn’t me.

The roosts are about five feet off the coop floor. These are my nests on the wall to the left, you can see the brooder to the right in this photo so maybe you can orient yourself. The top of the nests are about three feet off the coop floor. I have full-sized chickens, not bantams. I have some that fly directly to the roosts, some that fly to the top of the brooder (say 4’ high), and some that go to the top of the nests before they go to the roosts. In the morning they pretty much all fly directly to the coop floor.

That’s a juvenile roost above my nests to make integration easier. The top of the nests act as a droppings board.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had not noticed that space issue. You might follow the link in my signature to get my thoughts on room. I encourage people to provide as much space as reasonably possible instead of trying to shoehorn them into a tiny space. I have three main reasons: I find the tighter I squeeze them the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the less flexibility I have to deal with issues, and the harder I have to work. If you think about it this has more to do with your stress levels than your chickens comfort. Why make your life harder than it has to be. Having chickens should be relaxing, not stressful.

 

[Leigti]

Quote:
Hi, that's a very space efficient setup. Thank you for your help.

I easily have 12 chickens in there on 12 feet of roost. I could technically have more but I stick to 12.