What do they do at night?

[GC-Raptor]

Yes it looks like roosts may be too close to walls. It's also more comfortable if you put wide side up.
I have a nightlight on before dusk so they can see to hop onto the roost and shut off after sunset when I lock up, to prevent bullying at night. GC

 

[tinakevin]

I was wondering about the roosts as well. They need to be at least a foot away from the wall and as gc-raptor said if you put them on the 4 inch side it's much more comfortable for them

 

[jeria]

I'm a newbie still building my coop but I was wondering if the roosts were too close as well. Lumber size looks like about 6 inches. Learning for me often from other's questions.

 

[Stephine]

Yes, agree, the roosts look awfully close to the walls. They need to be able to flutter up there without crashing their little beaks into the wall. Distance of 12 " min., but 18 " is better, also spares you (most) poop streaks along the wall. And you want the wide side of the beam up so they don't have to balance like on a tight rope.

 

[NNYchick]

What do you use for a night light in the coop? I have 2 silkie chicks and they will not go in the coop. I have to go out and put them in there and they act like they do not want to go in. I would like to try a light in the coop. Is it ok to use a small string of Christmas lights. I was going to run a string across the back wall, the coop is tall enough they would not be able to reach it. Do you think this will work? I have trimmed the feathers around their eyes also to eliminate the possibility that they weren't seeing well. It is a dog house coop with ventilation holes drilled along the top but no window, so it is very dark in the back.

 

[GC-Raptor]

What do you use for a night light in the coop? I have 2 silkie chicks and they will not go in the coop. I have to go out and put them in there and they act like they do not want to go in. I would like to try a light in the coop. Is it ok to use a small string of Christmas lights. I was going to run a string across the back wall, the coop is tall enough they would not be able to reach it. Do you think this will work? I have trimmed the feathers around their eyes also to eliminate the possibility that they weren't seeing well. It is a dog house coop with ventilation holes drilled along the top but no window, so it is very dark in the back.

I use my heat lamp fixture, with a dimmable LED bulb, and a inline dimmer, shown on the left. This way I can make it as bright or dim as I need. I open my coop around 5am year round, so I have it bright in the morning and I dim the light around 9am when I give them a treat, refill the outside waterer, and collect eggs. So it's about as bright as a nightlight, when they go in to roost. I shut it off when I lockup the coop to prevent bullying. GC