[gracie]

Sorry for keep asking, but i have checked all the books and cant get the answers to some of hubbys questions.
The floor of the house is made of ply,  (i think), he has asked if any of you thought painting it with a bitumen based paint would help to waterproof it. He is going to make an elevated floor or perch type design for them to actually hop along so i dont think they will actually be walking on the floor itself. The perching will be removable for me to clean the floor. There will be some other perches higher than the nest boxes for them to sleep on if they wish.

Would it be easier to have a lip at the front of the nest boxes to stop the straw or whatever we use from coming out, or just keep it flush to the main part of the house,  he is trying to keep everything as smooth as possible to give red mite less places to hide.

Would yard broom handles be suitable for perches.

At present its being made in the garage but tomorrow he is possibly intending to give it a coat of cuprinol so that it can go outside, is that ok? dont want to use anything that the chickens wont like, sorry if thats a daft question, its mine not his.

It is looking lovely, i will go and take photos now and hopefully if i can persuade him i will get him to download them later, dont want to nag him as he has been grafting out there all day today and its really cold here.

[daisy1990]

I added a lip to the custom made coop I bought as the hens love scratching and scratched their hemcore out constantly!  The side of our coop comes off so sweeping out not a problem.  Broom handles may be a little wide for smaller hens but OK if yours are fully grown.  I painted mine with cuprinol stain (in cream so it looks painted rather than woodstain) and checked with cuprinol manufacturer that is was safe for hens (it is once dry) look forward to seeing the pics!

[gracie]

We are getting week old chicks in approx 12 days, so guess they would find the broom handles too big when they first go in at approx 6 weeks. Any ideas on what would be a good size that can be bought already made or will it just have to be wood rounded off.
Guess you are right about the lip on the nest boxes, I'm sure they will still fling everything about but it could possibly stay a bit tidied. The doors of the house have just gone on, it's so exciting.

[Casey76]

Broom handles are no good as perches.  Perches should be flat, but have the corners rounded off

[gracie]

Thanks Casey that cleared that one up. Just read on another post about an outside perch. As our house is raised and the area underneath will be boarded in on 3 sides i think i will get a perch put in under the house, that should be quite pleasant for them.

[ehs284]

Hope you don't mind my commenting within your piece - it's because I'm lazy

The floor of the house is made of ply,  (i think), he has asked if any of you thought painting it with a bitumen based paint would help to waterproof it.
NO it will be horrible to handle. You could use a varnish, but it probably isn't needed; a coat of diatomaceous earth slurry/paint is best IMHO. It acts to deter mites and poo is easily scraped off. It's cheap and easy to re-apply. No bad side effects. Try and make the floor itself removeable then you can take it out for a hose down and repaint in fine weather. We poo pick daily, so it never gets really horrible, but an air and wash are (not) good for bugs and mites.

He is going to make an elevated floor or perch type design for them to actually hop along so i dont think they will actually be walking on the floor itself.

WE have a floor under the perches - ply, treated as above and  sloped at the same angle as the perches rise. This makes it easy to clean and, if any birds fall (which they do when trying to get all 14 onto one perch on mad nights), then they cannot fall far and can easily start again from the bottom.

Outside this floored perch area is a plank which runs the length of the coop from pop hole to nest box at the opposite end. They can get to the nest box without going onto the fouled floor. This seems to work well and the nest box area is kept clean - they're very fussy are our monsters!

 The perching will be removable for me to clean the floor. There will be some other perches higher than the nest boxes for them to sleep on if they wish.

IF the nest boxes are separated by a part division, you can just put trays or big bowls in on the floor as nesting boxes. They need to be the right shape to prevent falling over with heavy birds, but you can put a weight in.  Not too high washing up bowls are fine so they don't need a step.  Shavings stay in for a few days and you can top up as needed. Again cleaning is easy. Shavings are not needed elsewhere.
They really should sleep on the perches, but if you have birds that can't as we have - an ancient old lady,- then an ante-room between the perches and the nest box area works fine. This also worked when we had two small newcomers and might be the idea for your small chicks. As they grow they automatically look for perches. You might have to put a divider in for a night or two until they get they idea that they can't sleep in the nest boxes.

Would it be easier to have a lip at the front of the nest boxes to stop the straw or whatever we use from coming out, or just keep it flush to the main part of the house,  he is trying to keep everything as smooth as possible to give red mite less places to hide.
THEY'LL throw things out however high you make it  . Try standing at the side of them dustbathing - then wash your hair!

Would yard broom handles be suitable for perches.
AS said no; the CLS timber from B&Q which is 2x3 inches planed and with rounded edges is just right and cheap.

HTH