Where to put roosting bars and what material to use

[KarriBeth]

This is the inside of my coop. I still have to put hardware cloth in the window holes but I’m ready to put up the roosting bars and I have no idea the best way to do it or what material is best.... 2x4s? Large dowels? Natural branches?
Do you screw a bracket into the walls and put them up or what do I do? The nesting boxes are on the opposite wall from the window.

 

[DobieLover]

How many birds do you intend to house in this coop?
What are it's dimensions?
Do you intend to use poop boards?
The roosts should be centered at least 12" from the wall.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You know, I'm usually full of opinions - but on the subject of roost bars, I'm bowing out. I will, however, invite @aart to join in with @DobieLover . Both are well respected in the community and have great advice on the topic. I will add only "what they said".

 

[WestTNriverrat]

This look very similar to mine. It has 2 roost running down the center about 30 inches apart the long way. I dislike it. It makes it tuff to move around inside. I can clean it out from the ground without climbing in, but sometimes chickens want to lay opposite the door not the boxes on the back and I have to climb in to get them. The coop was a trade for some hay so it is what it is.

 

[aart]

Anything that's at least 1.5-2" wide will work fine.

Here's my thoughts about heights:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

 

[Callender Girl]

My newest coop is complete, except for water-sealing the exterior siding AND adding roost bars and nesting boxes. I am like a squirrel trying to cross a busy road. I keep changing my mind about what to use and where to put it.

I love my avatar OverEZ coop, but I have decided against running two roost bars down the center like it has. I agree with WestTNriverrat that it makes it hard to move around inside the coop.

What I'm sure of is: I'm using 2-by-4's left over from the build, there will be two roosting bars and the roosts will not be attached to the coop. It's hard to describe my plan, but I'm making a framework that will have horizontal "legs" behind it to keep it 12 inches away from the wall and I am going to use leftover plywood to make a poop board. The nesting boxes will feature a couple of the big plastic kitty litter boxes that I've been saving for years, not knowing why.

At least, that's what I believe to be true today!

 

[Chuckie chicken]

Not sure how many birds you have, but here's a crude drawing of a way to span the back wall with a roost and a poop board. I found 18" deep boards worked well for me, 12" behind the roost bar (so it's 12" from the wall), and 6" in front of it.

I hope that makes sense. The red are supposed to be arrows. Big fingers, small tablet.

 

[KarriBeth]

How many birds do you intend to house in this coop?
What are it's dimensions?
Do you intend to use poop boards?
The roosts should be centered at least 12" from the wall.

This is for 8 hens as of now.
The floor is 4x8 and then the nesting boxes are a few inches off the ground and stick out so they don’t take up floor space.
I am truly not sure if I want a poop board of if I just want deep bedding. I want to use the poop for my garden and I can’t decide how to go about it the best. This is the last thing I really need to do and I can’t decide which way I want to do it.

 

[KarriBeth]

This is for 8 hens as of now.
The floor is 4x8 and then the nesting boxes are a few inches off the ground and stick out so they don’t take up floor space.
I am truly not sure if I want a poop board of if I just want deep bedding. I want to use the poop for my garden and I can’t decide how to go about it the best. This is the last thing I really need to do and I can’t decide which way I want to do it.

How many birds do you intend to house in this coop?
What are it's dimensions?
Do you intend to use poop boards?
The roosts should be centered at least 12" from the wall.

I have also considered building like a roost “ladder” with hinges at the top and a latch on the bottom that would hook to the ceiling to make it to where the ladder hinges up to make cleaning easy. If that makes sense at all. I’m just not sure if that would work for the chickens.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I use 2 by 4s, wide side up. Then I use L brackets to screw then into the wall.