More chicken questions

[MontyJ]

OK, chicken experts, time for some more questions.

By the end of this weekend I will be CX free! I am building the new run on Saturday, and doing the final coop remodel on Sunday. When all is said and done, the layers will have a 96 sq ft coop and a 660 sq ft run. Eventually, an area of the run measuring 8' x 15' will be covered with a roof that will extend from the front of the coop.

Now, how many roosts should I have, how high should they be, and should there be some at different heights?

The coop faces north/south. The pop door is on the south end. Should I build the nesting boxes on the east or west side? The east side gets unobstructed sun from morning until noon. The west side gets unobstructed sun from noon until late in the evening.

I currently have 12 layers. How many nesting boxes will I need?

How high should the nesting boxes be, and should there be a ledge or porch at the entrance?

And finally, with a coop and run of this size, how many chickens could I comfortably keep? DW says 12 is enough, but...you know

 

[joz]

The most quoted rule of thumb I've seen is 4sf per bird in the coop, and 10sf outside the coop.

So...

96/4=24 will fit inside and
660/10=66 will fit outside.

and 12" of roost per bird. I think. So 24' total of roosts. 2x4's on the flat seem to be the favorite. You didn't ask, but do Google "poop board". You're welcome.

Rather than orienting your roosts per the sun/cardinal points, consider where the least-drafty area of the coop is. Do you have enough ventilation?

Nesting boxes: That's a crap shoot. They might all use one. Three of them will hide eggs around the run. One is going to lay in the middle of the coop no matter what you do. At a minimum, probably 3-4 birds per box. A 3" lip will keep the nesting material and eggs inside the box. The nesting boxes should be lower than the roosts. They should be located for maximum comfort of the egg collector.


Disclaimer: I do not, and never have, owned chickens. But I've been reading BackyardChickens since 2008, planning my coop and birds and whatnot.

 

[canesisters]

Wow.. ok

One roost would be best. They will all want the highest point, so one level solves the squables before they begin.
Most folks use a 2x4 - wide side up. Chickens don't grip like song birds. They sit on their feet. So something wide enough for the feet but not wide enough to stick out behind them and get pooped on.

As for height, that depends. Mine has a poop shelf about 2' off the floor and the roost is about a foot higher than that. Some say that it's bad for their legs and their 'egg laying equipment' to jump. I have several little steps that they can go up and down without jumping (if they want).

Nest boxes should be where ever they are eaisest for you to access. The hens really won't care.
And no matter how many you build, they will have just a couple that they share/squabble over. I have 7 hens right now. They have 4 next boxes available. They use one box, a patch of hay on the floor and the poop shelf.

The general 'rule' is (if I remember right): 4sq feet per bird inside and 10 sq feet outside. This varies depending on the breeds, any free range time, general temperment of the girls, etc...

Make sure that you plan a nice place to sit and watch Chicken TV near on inside the run.

 

[bj taylor]

I love it monty. it's like a chicken game.

I think the roost height depends some on the breed. I have heavy breeds & they have a hard time jumping from much height & it threatens their legs/feet. for mine, three feet seems to be good. the nest boxes need to be lower than your roost because they go for the highest place to roost. I find having two or more roosts allows the birds to juggle back and forth as they settle in for the night so everyone gets to cuddle with whom they like. the lesser birds are able to get out of the way if they find themselves accidentally next to their nemesis. if they roost in your nest boxes, your eggs get nasty. (did you know that when chickens lay their eggs their uterus turns inside side out & that's how they lay clean eggs?)

the nest boxes can get hot. chickens generally do better with cold than heat, so place your nest boxes accordingly. if you build half as many nest boxes as you have birds, that will no doubt be enough - they tend to like the same spot. mine will stand on the floor of the coop yelling their head off for the one in front of them to hurry up & get out of the box so they can get in & lay theirs - while identical boxes are open next to it.

my birds spend very little time in the coop. they use it just for sleeping and laying. even when the weather is bad, they don't go in there to just hang out.

I think joz needs some chickens.

p.s. can't wait for the next questions. that was fun

 

[MontyJ]

Thanks folks! I knew I came to the right place

I'll build the nest boxes on the east side. It's the most protected from the weather and is the coolest.

I have plenty of room for roosts, so I can go 3' high. But a question about the poop boards...where exactly do I position them? How wide should they be? I don't know which way the chicken is going to be facing, so should it be wide enough to cover both ends? OK, that's like three questions about poop boards. Who knew pooping could be so complicated?

I also appear to have enough room for 24 chickens...unless, of course, I expand the coop

I'm running back and forth between the computer and the grill. Betcha can't guess what I'm cooking

 

[canesisters]

My poop shelf is 24" wide (2 1x12's side by side). The roost is in the middle. They haven't missed yet.

Here's a link to a great thread about all things poop board:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/621363/poop-board-convert-warning-graphic-gross-poop-pictures

 

[bj taylor]

I was wondering when the poop questions would come.

I use the deep litter method so I don't use a poop board. my floor is linoleum & I have a long (two feet) narrow door in the exterior wall that is my clean out door. about three times a year (so far) I open that door, use a push broom & push the used litter out onto a tarp. I bundle the tarp over to either the garden or the compost pile - depending.
this works pretty well for a small flock. I don't know about a coop w/your dimensions & number of birds. the litter just slides across the floor which is nice. i'm able to conserve the litter too because the poop is concentrated in one area. I push that out, push the other into it's place & put fresh in the bare spot.

chicken poop - who knew?

 

[so lucky]

Of course, I have to put my 2 cents worth in here. If you can, (if the boxes are inside the house) put a steeply sloped top on the nest boxes. Too steep for them to stand on. Otherwise, they will use the tops to roost on, if they can get up there, and you will have another poop issue. And, my nest boxes open to the outside, with slide bolts on the door, so I can get the eggs without having to go into the chicken yard/house.

 

[MontyJ]

Good information so far! Thanks y'all! After raising 25 CX for several weeks, I am under the impression that layers just don't poop. Or maybe they do, but the poops are dainty little things that don't really smell. CX, on the other hand...WHEW. You can hear them poop! We clean their half of the coop every 3-4 days and it smells good for, oh, I don't know, maybe an hour? We clean the layers side every couple of weeks and it's mostly shavings, dry and still pretty fluffy. The CX side is spongy, thick and nasty.

I read a lot of the poop board link Cane. Thanks for that. I wish I had known about sweet PDZ 2 months ago, but I don't think even that would help with CX.

So, I'm thinking an L shaped roost. Twelve feet down the west side and eight feet across the back. Roost at 3' high, 24" wide poop box 12" under that. That puts the poop board 24" off the floor. With that set up, I shouldn't have to worry about stepping up to the roost, correct?

The nesting boxes will be built onto the outside of the coop on the east side. I will cut the siding for entries for the hens. I also plan to hinge the roofs of the boxes for access from the outside.

BJ, DW absolutely refuses to use the DL method. I told her about it and she flat out said it wasn't going to happen. I think she just likes being in there with her chickens :/ Funny how it went from my chicken adventure to hers and mine. Mine being the nasty, stinky CX and hers being the layers. She has them so spoiled most of them hop onto her arms and climb all over her. Cinnamon is definately a mommas chicken. She will hop onto DWs arm (while she is crouched down giving them treats), then walk all the way up to her shoulder and then onto her back. When DW tries to shoo her off, Cinamon just runs from one side to the other. It's very funny to watch!

 

[baymule]

Monty, here is a nest box link
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/287684/new-rollout-nest-design-picture-heavy-edited-1-21

I built a nice 2-hole nest box for my hens (not a roll-out, I have to do a coop remodel) They rejected it and lay on the poop board under their small roost. :/ This was for 8 layers. I have 7 pullets that will be laying soon and 7 SLW chicks to add in the mix. A new nest box will be coming soon. I already built a new roost. It is 2x4s laid flat side up. It is about 4 1/2 feet tall, 5 feet wide, built like a ladder with the 2x4s 10 inches apart. There is NO poop board under it! One of the hens uses the top to scream her little chicken lungs out when it is her turn to lay and another hen has the nerve to get there first. While the nest box goes unused............empty, unloved and unegged.

My coop is 8'x7' and the run is 8'x12'. Using Joz's calculations, I could have 38 chickens........ but I'd better stop for now. You will get more chickens Monty. It's inevitable. DW won't mind.........really she won't care.........

You have got some very good answers here, all good advice.