8x4 coop roosting bar set ups

[Mom2LotsOBoys]

Hi all .

Can I see pictures of your 8’x4’ (or similar) roosting bar set ups? What do you love, what do you hate?

My husband is building our coop approximately from these plans but it doesn’t include roosting bars so I wanted to ask the hive mind before we put in something that turns out to be highly annoying! We’ll have 10 average size hens to start.

Thanks!

 

[Mom2LotsOBoys]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/101272...click_sum=0edae590&ref=shop_home_feat_1&pro=1

Forgot the link. Coop plans.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

I hate to say it, but I hope that you're in the early stages of the build and can do some redesigning because the coop pictured in those plans is very poorly ventilated.

It's also MUCH smaller than it looks because the chickens photoshopped into the picture are shown at the size of robins, not actual hens (think of the size of a hen as a basketball on legs), and the fact that it has too many nests for the number of hens it should hold indicates that the designer probably knew more about carpentry than chickens.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

This is a photo of 3 cockerels in an 8x4 space (my brooder), which also shows the roost I use in there when I'm not using it as a brooder. The boys here are just slightly smaller than adult hens of their breed.

You see that I run the roost down the long side, about a foot from the wall.

Here's my article on coop ventilation: Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation

 

[NatJ]

It's also MUCH smaller than it looks because the chickens photoshopped into the picture are shown at the size of robins, not actual hens (think of the size of a hen as a basketball on legs)

Nah, those "chickens" are bantam-sized, not robin-sized.

The dimensions are 5x8 feet for the coop, 8x10 feet for the run, and the height is 7 feet (back) to 10 feet (front.) The space under the coop is supposedly 1 foot 8 inches tall.

So it may not be quite as big as it looks, but it's really not too bad.

(With that space, the run should be "big enough" for 8 chickens, and the coop is a little more than the minimum for 8. Or the coop could hold 10, and the run could be made larger to accommodate them.)

and the fact that it has too many nests for the number of hens it should hold indicates that the designer probably knew more about carpentry than chickens.

The designer probably does know more about carpentry or aesthetics than chickens, but I've never seen "too many nests" cause a problem for the chickens. And if half the flock goes broody at once, that many nests may temporarily be handy. So if it looks nice with a whole row, and the person is willing to build them, I don't really see extra nests as a problem.

I hate to say it, but I hope that you're in the early stages of the build and can do some redesigning because the coop pictured in those plans is very poorly ventilated.

I agree that it needs much more ventilation.

 

[3KillerBs]

Nah, those "chickens" are bantam-sized, not robin-sized.

Compared to the door the bird looks no more than 6-8" tall. I don't own any bantams so I'm not 100% sure how big they are.

I reflexively assume that if a coop designer isn't willing to take photos of ordinary, standard-size hens actually in the coop/run they're trying to deceive the buyer about the size.

The designer probably does know more about carpentry or aesthetics than chickens, but I've never seen "too many nests" cause a problem for the chickens.

This is true, but I use that as a red flag for lack of chicken knowledge that leads to more serious design flaws.

 

[NatJ]

Can I see pictures of your 8’x4’ (or similar) roosting bar set ups? What do you love, what do you hate?

My husband is building our coop approximately from these plans but it doesn’t include roosting bars so I wanted to ask the hive mind before we put in something that turns out to be highly annoying! We’ll have 10 average size hens to start.

No photos, but I would either run one roost bar the long way (on the side toward the run, so you can still walk in the door). Or I would run two roost bars the short way, one at least a foot from the far wall and the other at least two feet away from it.

Either way, I would make the roosts removable, so you can lift them out if you need to move freely in the coop (like at cleaning time). U-shaped brackets of wood or metal can make it easy to lift the roosts out, while keeping them secure the rest of the time.

 

[NatJ]

Compared to the door the bird looks no more than 6-8" tall. I don't own any bantams so I'm not 100% sure how big they are.

Some bantams are pretty small.

I reflexively assume that if a coop designer isn't willing to take photos of ordinary, standard-size hens actually in the coop/run they're trying to deceive the buyer about the size.

They are just selling plans. I doubt they have ever actually built a coop from those plans. So there probably is no actual structure to photograph. (When someone is selling a prefab coop, it physically exists, so I agree they should take real photos.)

This is true, but I use that as a red flag for lack of chicken knowledge that leads to more serious design flaws.

Yes, that's a valid point.

 

[3KillerBs]

They are just selling plans. I doubt they have ever actually built a coop from those plans.

That would be another red flag for me.

IMO, if you're going to sell plans for something you're calling a chicken coop then you should first build the thing and keep chickens in it to make sure that it doesn't require design changes.

 

[NatJ]

That would be another red flag for me.

IMO, if you're going to sell plans for something you're calling a chicken coop then you should first build the thing and keep chickens in it to make sure that it doesn't require design changes.

I haven't looked around enough to know if they built any or not.

But if I built a chicken coop of one size, I would be pretty comfortable selling plans to make the "same thing" in other sizes. Photographing one size when selling plans for a different size could be a problem, because you'd end up with confused customers.

So yes, I can see that it's worth looking more carefully, but I don't see the lack of actual photos as a big deal.

 

[Mom2LotsOBoys]

Welcome to BYC.

I hate to say it, but I hope that you're in the early stages of the build and can do some redesigning because the coop pictured in those plans is very poorly ventilated.

It's also MUCH smaller than it looks because the chickens photoshopped into the picture are shown at the size of robins, not actual hens (think of the size of a hen as a basketball on legs), and the fact that it has too many nests for the number of hens it should hold indicates that the designer probably knew more about carpentry than chickens.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

This is a photo of 3 cockerels in an 8x4 space (my brooder), which also shows the roost I use in there when I'm not using it as a brooder. The boys here are just slightly smaller than adult hens of their breed.

You see that I run the roost down the long side, about a foot from the wall.

Here's my article on coop ventilation: Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation

Yes, we’re going to do rectangular walls and leave the entire triangular piece on the short sides open so there will be both window ventilation and constant airflow through the very top.

Also not doing all those nesting boxes. I told hubs 3, and we can always add another if needed.

Their run is going to be my old garden which is 20’x30’ so they won’t be as squashed as the run in the pictures.