HF could you please photograph the insides of one of your coups just to how people what you mean regarding the perches and block off boards - as pictures tells a thousand words 
, thanks.
OK Joy but in fact I've posted these several times already and I just thought most people will be fed up with keep seeing them but here they are again. Note the lift off nestboxes and side walls, shuttered nestboxes, removable perches and floor channel leaving a completely flat and easily swept floor. Also by removing the side walls you can sweep out from under the perches without the birds escaping easily.
Roosts are an important aspect in any good house design and below is some general advice on what to look out for. Before anyone thinks about the type of house they should get they should think out in some detail the system of husbandry they will use including how they will cope with periods when they are away and maybe have a friend dropping in. Once they are clear about this they can look for a suitably designed house.
My houses are Forsham Lenhams which suit my method of husbandry perfectly. My system is movable folds, arks enclosed within an electric net an alternating run system but this might not suit other's systems. There are many other houses than Lenhams with similar interior characteristics including aviary types such as Smiths sectional Buildings. Cheap Chinese and SE Asia pre fabricated flat pack imports are produced from beautifully machined wood, obviously made on modern machinery, but the quality and guage of wood and in particular the interior design is often badly lacking.
To understand a birds requirements you have to appreciate that they would naturally roost in trees and their droppings would fall away from them through the branches so they aren't paddling about in them constantly. They only roost at night and their primary need is for shelter and security. A house is a substitute for a tree and should provide the shelter and securiity and sanitary roosting arrangements they need. Predominently the base area should be roosting space. It isn't a wendy house for chickens and since they only need to visit it to lay (assuming their nestboxes are in it) and roost (during the hours of darkness) it should be designed exclusively for these needs.
If you find you need to poo pick regularly then it's a sign the design isn't right. I clean out in summer once every 3 or four weeks and only top up the top layer of shavings in between as they get soiled. The roosts stay clean as I paint them with Diatom slurry which prevents the worst fouling and helps to dry the droppings so they fall through. In fact I often just sweep out and scrap off the perches and don't wash if there's no hardened on droppings. A disinfectant spray leaves the diatom intact and only ocassional reapplication is needed.
Living areas and dining areas are not required in houses and chx should spend most of the day light out in the run foraging. Their run should provide shelter from wind and rain and for the feeder to keep it dry.
A time proven way to design roosts is to provide a grid of roosting bars with a dropping space underneath to which there is no access for the birds and so they can't pick in them or walk on a soiled floor. The other requirement is that it is easy to clean and manage for you. Flat floors which can be swept out with no litter traps and plenty of access with removable walls perches etc is ideal as well as external access for egg collection. Personally I hate slide out dropping boards which invariably get over loaded and scrape off their contents into the house when you remove them. They are weak and flimsy and difficult to tip in a barrow without spilling when loaded with dropping and prone to give you a face full of dirty litter in windy conditions. better to have an easily swept area, See the phots.
A good design also includes a vertical dropping pophole of the appropriate size and above head height baffled ventilation and strong heavy guage treated timber. A vertical trap door pophole is more versitile than a side sliding one which gets jammed with litter and droppings or a conventional hinged door which sags, develops rusty hinges and can't easily be automated.
Recently a friend proudly showed me a henhouse which she had had made cheaply by a local village handyman from pallet and packing case wood. I had to bite my tongue and admire what I though was a bad mistake because it had just about broken every rule I could think of. Though it was well and solidly constructed it lacked access, had lots of dirt traps had butt joined rough sawn timber cladding, fixed internal fittings which couldn't be removed for cleaning, used felt covering on the roof, no external access for egg collection, a run which was perminently fixed to to the house with carry handles but was so heavy it required two strong men to lift and move. More over it was a totally inappropriate design for the space she had available which was about a half acre field she could have used to allow them to free range in. There was no need for a movable design house. Six months latter I met up with her and she was bemoaning the warped, shrunk and split timbers which let the rain in and the difficulty of cleaning it out and getting in the run and she even volunteered that she would have been better off to have had a proper design built rather than trust the local handyman.
Materials need to be considered too including rust proof fittings and fastenings. External ply with few joins is good as well as tongue and groove 12mm - 15mm close fitting boards are strong too but provides homes for RM, though with a sensible approach these can be controled. Sheet metal has no place in a chicken house as it conducts the heat away in winter and encourages condensation. Neither is glass and windows which are a crass design feature. A good roof material is corrugated bitumen impregnated board and onduline is my prefered make. Good quality tongue and groove lap boards are also good for steep pitched roofs but need more maintenance. Floors can be good quality external ply and completely flat and preferably raised at least 150mm above ground level to discourage rodents. All wood should be treated with preservative and not painted with oil based paint. Top grade cuprinol for longer lasting results can be applied externally only.
You've got me on my hobby horse now Joy.
HF
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May 01, 2012, 10:59