Well done! I spent about 3 years experimenting with all this in a similar size coop for my 6-15 chickens and came up with the same layout. I'll offer another tip: I have one high roost on either side of the coop, enough for each bird to have a foot in summer. Under each is a waist high shelf, about 3" wider on either side of the roost. I keep about 1-1/2" of sawdust on the shelves. It absorbs the moisture immediately so the poop does not stick and dries very quickly. Just about every day I scoop and sift the poops with a cat litter scoop, then sprinkle on a handful of fresh sawdust. It takes about 5-10 mins and I don't have to stoop or shovel. i don't even have to cover the floor because as you said, the chickens just don't spend time moving around the coop except to get to the nesting boxes below. I get sawdust free from a guy with a sawmill just outside of town, and use much much less than straw or hay or expensive pine shavings. A 50 lb repurposed feed bag is enough sawdust to last about 2 months for 9 chickens. The scooped out poop immediately goes into the compost pile so there is virtually no odor from the coop. In my moderate climate, NC, deep litter is not needed and just becomes a stinky mess to shovel out and replace. Happy Chickening :)
That's pretty cool. Glad most of them could fit. Aww poor Snowdrop. Late Happy Easter to you. Happy to hear you're a fellow believer. I would have commented but you set it to kids and that closes comments and faves.
Great video! I especially like that you discussed the spacing of the roosts (ie. the poop) . My chickens love to check out anything new so I wonder if yours will choose to retake their positions later on . BTW, High marks for coop ventilation. I'm takig notes for a possible future coop build. :)
I went full send on the ventilation! I’ll do an update on their roosting habits in about a week once I see what they’re going to do. Thanks for watching!
Nice and simple bud! I like that. Just built my coop and wanted a straight simple roosting solution and you had it. My coop is small 4x8 so I wanted the chickens to be comfortable but also be able to easily clean it. Good job!
We have a plywood poo board --- works great. It takes less than 1 min to scrape clean and my coop smells clean (no smell) poo goes in pail - then out to compost pile. To make the scraper I take a long one by one stick and I screwed on a piece of plywood that was shaped like a rectangle to the stick- sort of looks like a hoe... Works great and I clean the poop board in less than 1 minute. SECOND TIP, RUB agriculture line or First Saturday Lime across the underside of the roost bar board...WHY? I HEARD MITES LIKE TO HIDE ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ROOSTING BAR -- I RUB (ON ALL SIDES) WITH THAT FIRST SATURDAY LIME TO PREVENT THE MITES FROM ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ROOST BAR AND THEN FEEDING OFF OF THE BIRDS AT NIGHT. I ALSO PUT THAT AGRICULTURE LINE FOR THE FIRST SATURDAY LIME AND ALL OF THE CRACKS AND CREVICES OF THE CHICKEN COOP... WHEN I BUILT MY CHICKEN COOP I ALSO PAINTED THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR OF THE COUPE TO PAINT AND SEAL ALL OF THE CRACKS AND CREVICES.... I HOPE THAT INFORMATION IS HELPFUL.
Just my two cents, I use 2x3s dimension studs for my roosts. This is the perfect size. It is my opinion the 2x4s are a bit too large for an adult chicken and will add problems with foot issues. I use sandpaper to remove sharp imperfections that may cause splintering. I the spring and fall I clean them again with sandpaper. The important part is being horizontal. You'd want a high roost bar to avoid chickens roosting on nest boxes, which should be around a foot lower than your roosts.
The width of the roost depends on the breed of the chicken. My 4-5 lb heritage breed chickens are perfectly comfortable on a full 2x4. Smaller chickens like silkies are fine on narrower roosts
What foot issue would be caused by a 2x4 over 2x2 or 2x3😂 he perfectly explains why a bigger roost is beneficial in cold climates, while you offer no downside.
@@pretendfarm I am proud of every hard working man and woman on this planet. Despite all the bs regulations to make your life hard, your success on the field is the biggest middle finger to tyranny 🍻
Something I have since learned is that older, heavier chickens can actually sustain injuries when crashing down from a high roosting spot. So far so good though 🤞
I took a year off before I build my coop, I did a lot of research , to prevent fighting, to spread poop from landing in just one place, and making sure chickens don't sleep in nesting boxes, Carolina coops has the best roosting bars design, mixed with a elevated coop and using the deep litter method, I consider it the best design, My only modifications to their design was, a fold up deep litter ladder and a fold up deep litter roost bar for even easier cleaning. All roost bars are removable.
@737smartin it's a mini ladder for silky chickens it was invented by Carolina coops, if you build a deep litter coop, the door may be too high for a silky chicken to get out, the same thing for the nest box, it might be too high for a silky to get in, these things are not needed for regular chickens, the fold up part was my design for easy cleaning.
It’s about 5 feet. Chickens have the ability to flap their wings and coast down from some pretty high structures. Typically they fly out of the coop in the mornings rather that use their ramp. It’s even higher. I think getting up to it is probably a lot harder on them! I’ll try and film just how it is they do that exactly! I’m curious myself! Thanks for the great question!
@@pretendfarm I get by with 12" between roosts. For a custom fit, just observe your chickens when they are roosting and measure how far back their tail extends from the roost and position the next a bit outside of that
Well done! I spent about 3 years experimenting with all this in a similar size coop for my 6-15 chickens and came up with the same layout. I'll offer another tip: I have one high roost on either side of the coop, enough for each bird to have a foot in summer. Under each is a waist high shelf, about 3" wider on either side of the roost. I keep about 1-1/2" of sawdust on the shelves. It absorbs the moisture immediately so the poop does not stick and dries very quickly. Just about every day I scoop and sift the poops with a cat litter scoop, then sprinkle on a handful of fresh sawdust. It takes about 5-10 mins and I don't have to stoop or shovel. i don't even have to cover the floor because as you said, the chickens just don't spend time moving around the coop except to get to the nesting boxes below. I get sawdust free from a guy with a sawmill just outside of town, and use much much less than straw or hay or expensive pine shavings. A 50 lb repurposed feed bag is enough sawdust to last about 2 months for 9 chickens. The scooped out poop immediately goes into the compost pile so there is virtually no odor from the coop. In my moderate climate, NC, deep litter is not needed and just becomes a stinky mess to shovel out and replace. Happy Chickening :)
Here in Alaska The Old Timers Say: Six inches is Very Important so they Sit on their Feet to Keep from Freezing their toes
That's pretty cool. Glad most of them could fit. Aww poor Snowdrop. Late Happy Easter to you. Happy to hear you're a fellow believer. I would have commented but you set it to kids and that closes comments and faves.
Yeah I don’t know why it does that but I wanted to make sure everybody could watch! Thanks for watching!
@@pretendfarm Well everyone can watch even if it's set to "adult", but when it's set to "kids" everyone is actually more limited.
Great video! I especially like that you discussed the spacing of the roosts (ie. the poop) . My chickens love to check out anything new so I wonder if yours will choose to retake their positions later on . BTW, High marks for coop ventilation. I'm takig notes for a possible future coop build. :)
I went full send on the ventilation! I’ll do an update on their roosting habits in about a week once I see what they’re going to do. Thanks for watching!
Nice and simple bud! I like that. Just built my coop and wanted a straight simple roosting solution and you had it. My coop is small 4x8 so I wanted the chickens to be comfortable but also be able to easily clean it. Good job!
Glad you found this helpful! I try and keep it simple!
@pretendfarm I'm in Canada so temperatures are always an is at -40c
We have a plywood poo board --- works great. It takes less than 1 min to scrape clean and my coop smells clean (no smell) poo goes in pail - then out to compost pile. To make the scraper I take a long one by one stick and I screwed on a piece of plywood that was shaped like a rectangle to the stick- sort of looks like a hoe... Works great and I clean the poop board in less than 1 minute.
SECOND TIP, RUB agriculture line or First Saturday Lime across the underside of the roost bar board...WHY?
I HEARD MITES LIKE TO HIDE ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ROOSTING BAR -- I RUB (ON ALL SIDES) WITH THAT FIRST SATURDAY LIME TO PREVENT THE MITES FROM ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ROOST BAR AND THEN FEEDING OFF OF THE BIRDS AT NIGHT. I ALSO PUT THAT AGRICULTURE LINE FOR THE FIRST SATURDAY LIME AND ALL OF THE CRACKS AND CREVICES OF THE CHICKEN COOP... WHEN I BUILT MY CHICKEN COOP I ALSO PAINTED THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR OF THE COUPE TO PAINT AND SEAL ALL OF THE CRACKS AND CREVICES.... I HOPE THAT INFORMATION IS HELPFUL.
Those are some VERY good tips! I’ve been wanting to do a poo board for a while now. It’s probably going to be an upcoming project this summer!
Just my two cents, I use 2x3s dimension studs for my roosts. This is the perfect size. It is my opinion the 2x4s are a bit too large for an adult chicken and will add problems with foot issues. I use sandpaper to remove sharp imperfections that may cause splintering. I the spring and fall I clean them again with sandpaper. The important part is being horizontal. You'd want a high roost bar to avoid chickens roosting on nest boxes, which should be around a foot lower than your roosts.
The width of the roost depends on the breed of the chicken. My 4-5 lb heritage breed chickens are perfectly comfortable on a full 2x4. Smaller chickens like silkies are fine on narrower roosts
What foot issue would be caused by a 2x4 over 2x2 or 2x3😂 he perfectly explains why a bigger roost is beneficial in cold climates, while you offer no downside.
Amazing stuff sir!
Thank you. I’m glad you got something out of it! I learn stuff and then try to pass it along!
@@pretendfarm I am proud of every hard working man and woman on this planet. Despite all the bs regulations to make your life hard, your success on the field is the biggest middle finger to tyranny 🍻
Great video! My chickens also prefer the highest roost.
Something I have since learned is that older, heavier chickens can actually sustain injuries when crashing down from a high roosting spot. So far so good though 🤞
@@pretendfarm That's true. I added a ramp for my girls to get down
See if colonel sanders gets the upper roost again tomorrow. Maybe not
Yeah I’m really curious about if it’s going to stay that way or not!
Why not also raise the lower roost bar to match the high one so all the birds can roost high, then the pecking order will become irrelevant?
I took a year off before I build my coop, I did a lot of research , to prevent fighting, to spread poop from landing in just one place, and making sure chickens don't sleep in nesting boxes, Carolina coops has the best roosting bars design, mixed with a elevated coop and using the deep litter method, I consider it the best design, My only modifications to their design was, a fold up deep litter ladder and a fold up deep litter roost bar for even easier cleaning. All roost bars are removable.
What is this "fold up deep litter ladder" and "fold up deep litter roost bar" of which you speak?
@737smartin it's a mini ladder for silky chickens it was invented by Carolina coops, if you build a deep litter coop, the door may be too high for a silky chicken to get out, the same thing for the nest box, it might be too high for a silky to get in, these things are not needed for regular chickens, the fold up part was my design for easy cleaning.
@@MosaicHomestead Thanks!
@737smartin I have a video up when I was installing it, it's the chicken guard and accessories video.
Those were not Lavender Orpington chickens right ?
I’m not sure exactly which ones you mean by “those” but yes, I do have 2 Lavender Orpingtons. They have just started laying.
R u worried about injury when they fly down? It looks high.
It’s about 5 feet. Chickens have the ability to flap their wings and coast down from some pretty high structures. Typically they fly out of the coop in the mornings rather that use their ramp. It’s even higher. I think getting up to it is probably a lot harder on them! I’ll try and film just how it is they do that exactly! I’m curious myself! Thanks for the great question!
Awesome tks. Needed to know for my coop.
Do the ones on the lower roost get pooped on?
How far apart should I put them?
If you space the bars out about 3 feet then there would never be a problem. I’d say no less than 2 feet for sure
@@pretendfarm
Thanks for responding.
New subscriber !
I’m a pretend farmer also, I call it “being prepared for the unprecedented “
@@TearDrop455 welcome to the Pretend Farm! It’s always something new! 😂
@@pretendfarm I get by with 12" between roosts. For a custom fit, just observe your chickens when they are roosting and measure how far back their tail extends from the roost and position the next a bit outside of that
The higher you go the more she-it on the walls..
Too flat. Round over a bit and change axis 90.