[tegfryn]

Hi, I have been reading this forum for a few weeks, and read various books, but am still struggling to get my head around how to construct the internal layout for our new house.

My understanding is that nests should be slightly above floor level and perches higher than nests. Ideally a droppings board should be 6" under the perch to stop the birds fouling the floor.

We are looking to make a coop based on the Smiths Sectional - The Chase design http://www.smithssectionalbuildings.co.uk/

Assuming I understand the basics...Can anyone offer advice in applying this logic to this sort of house, as most of the houses available to buy seem to place the perches on the floor (not ~18" high) with no droppings board, making the perches either the same heght or lower than the nest boxes.

I have a tried planning this on paper, but struggling with how to raise the perches off the floor and incorporate a droppings board, without blocking access to the nest boxes.

I appologies for rabbling, and hopefully I've managed to explain myself properly, just trying to get my head round it before I proceed with this new but exciting project.

Many Thanks

[tegfryn]

loads of views and no replies

guess i'll have to keep reading some more....lol

[poultrygeist]

Hi tegfryn. Welcome.

That smiths house looks a nice one. I would make the floor solid and raise the perches up above nestbox height but I'm sure their layout is a tried and tested. The natural behaviour of chickens is to lay eggs in low, dark places and to roost as high in a tree as they can, hence the design.

I don't have a droppings board but wish I had incorporated one. It would certainly save a lot of cleaning.

Would you like to introduce yourself in the welcome forum so you can meet the friendly folks from the "veggie" side ? 

Rob

[lucylou]

hi there, we bought our coop off internet & when it arrived the 2 perches were the same level as nesting box.  We moved them higher and, as you say - they then blocked the nest boxes, but we got around that problem by removing one perch completely to leave a bigger gap for hens to get into boxes (only got 4 hens in there so didnt need both perches)
the house you got planned looks lovely - good luck with it!

Lucylou

[tegfryn]

Thanks for the replies

when you raised the perch, did you incorporate a droppings board?

[lucylou]

the house already had a droppings board incorporated - a wooden pull out tray with a metal insert & have to say that it does make it very easy to clean out - although it is very thin and i am wondering wether i will have to add some kind of insulation over th winter as it might make it very cold otherwise - maybe a thick layer of cardboard. 

[tegfryn]

have you got a link to the one you bought, or any pictures?

thanks for your help

[lucylou]

got it from ebay - its called 'Rushmore coop' and is an import .  A lot of people dont like the imported ones saying that the quality isnt there, but we gave it a good couple of coats of extra preservative (good quality pet friendly stuff) added some 12 inch stilts and a ladder for them to get up and down - we are really pleased with it.  Only thing is, the run is absolutely tiny - not even big enough for a guinea pig in my opinion, so we dismantled it and used part of it to create a new enclosure for the hens.

[tegfryn]

do you find the girls walk in all the poop on the board though, i thought that if i could suspend it under the perch it would keep the floor a lot clearer.

[lucylou]

As ive only got 4 girls in the house and they only go in there to roost (they dont do any scratching or foraging in there) it doesnt get too messy.  i pick out the pooh every day (only takes afew minutes))and it really stays pretty good as their droppings are only really under where each of them sleeps in  a little pile and not dotted all around the place if you know what i mean.

[tegfryn]

sorry to keep picking your brains like this, just want to get it right.

do you put anything in the bottom of the house...straw, wood shavings etc?

i like the idea of giving them a covered run aswell, as here in south wales it has been a very wet year.....lol

[nzdunn]

i just use straw in my hen houe and straw for the nest boxes,  i place a few sheets of newspaper under the girls perch which they poo on and then in the morning i just grab the newspaper out and then refresh before there bed time, my girls dont spend anytime in the house, they only go in there to roost and obviously lay there eggs.   There are a couple of alternatives you can use apart from straw, you can use shavings or hemcore (horsey stuff), personally i find straw better as i reckon its warmer especially for the winter, stay away from hay though as its not good for the chooks.    For your run a roof is always good as it stops the run becoming a mud bath and also provides a bit of shelter.   nickyx

[hillfooter]

I don't know where you got the idea that perches have to be above the nestboxes but I don't think this is necessary.  What you don't want is for the birds to be able to get under the perches otherwise they will get fouled and this might encourage vent pecking.  The Smith's design is fine in this regard and prevents the birds walking on the floor where there will be droppings.  I can't see from the photos if there is a nestbox shutter but I wouldn't have nestboxes I couldn't shutter at night to prevent the hens fouling the nestboxes.
A key requirement for me would be a COMPLETELY flat floor which can easily swept out into a container which can be tipped into a barrow.  Alternately the floor can be covered with a heavy weight poly sheet (such as a damp proof membrain) which can be lifted out and tipped into a barrow.  The Smith's design looks a little suspect from this perspective as there appear to be door jams whoich will make sweeping out the corners thoroughly more dificult.  Even small ledges or anything which detracts from a flat floor can trap soiled litter and make cleaning more difficult and becomes an irritation over time.  Again the photos don't show suficient detail to be sure of this aspect. I personally dislike removable dropping boards which slide out as the perches can scrape the droppings off and they can be unwieldy to handle and if heavily soiled they can be heavy or tip their contents on the floor of the house. They are a nightmare in windy conditions and unless reasonably small difficult to tip in a barrow without spilling the contents.  See Forsham Cottage Arks website and their Lenham design which I think for a movable ark is really well sorted.
Use onduline for the roof not felt covering as felt is a haven for red mite.
Regards

[tegfryn]

Pretty much all the books and FAQs on websites that I have read have stated that the perch should be above the nestboxes to stop the chickens going in them at night. This is why I thought a suspended droppings board would be a good idea, to stop them being able to walk in the poop.

I am thinking of making this style house, as it will use the space available more effectively. We are thinking of having a concrete run, then let the girls out into the rest of the garden when we're here.

I cant find ant detailed interior pictures on the web, that shows a house of this style

[RichardH]

I've nearly finished building my first coop, and I've had fun with various aspects too.

I went for an external nest box, to try and keep things less cluttered inside. Also designed the floor area of the coop to fit a couple of heavy duty plastic growbag trays, so they will slide out for cleaning, and hopefully not be too unmanageable. Coop is on stilts which brings the height of the coop floor to just under 3', so no grovelling around on the ground - and also means I can get a barrow underneath if I want to sweep out straight into the barrow. I've meshed the underneath of the coop to bring that in as part of the run, but under the coop door I've made a meshed door so that barrow can still get under - also I intend to put feeder and drinker under the coop area, so it's sheltered from the elements.

More info on what I did here - don't take it as "the" way to do it though - it's my first attempt and I may well have made several errors that I'll only discover once the chickens are in residence (hopefully this weekend!!).

R