adequate "fly-down" area in front of roost

[ChaosMom]

Hi, all; new member here. I've been reading BYC for several months now in preparation for our three 7-8 pullets coming in early March. We're putting up the large (8'x15') run now and may have to use a temporary coop until we get the design figured out.

I'm wrestling with dimensions vs how the coop will fit in the run space with door. Ideally, it would be 4'x5' with 2 outside nest boxes on the 5' side, which I can figure out the roost bar etc without a problem. But chicken math - I'm betting that we'll add two more for a total of five.

So I want a 5' roost bar, but in a 4'x5' coop, that means that they'll only have 4' minus 15"-18" from the wall, so a max of 2 1/2' - 2 3/4' landing area. I read here *somewhere* that the space in front of the roost should be at least as long as the height about the floor lest they go bonk when they fly down. They're heavy breeds, and the roost will probably be 18" above the floor (with poop board below.)

*waving hands in air* - when you're ensuring adequate fly-down space, don't they opt to fly a bit diagonally for a gentler flight path, not straight ahead?? If I build a 5x5 coop for a longer flydown area, the nest boxes will have to be inside (human door opening reasons), and then I have to figure out the whole keeping them off of the nest box roofs.

tl;dr - will a roost bar on the 5' side of a 4x5 coop allow adequate landing space as they fly down off the roost? thanks!

-- I have no pics, because this only exists in my overheated brain.

 

[AGeese]

That's a small coop for 8 birds. I'd just make the entire run your coop and let them free range. Welcome to BYC btw.

 

[ChaosMom]

That's a small coop for 8 birds. I'd just make the entire run your coop and let them free range. Welcome to BYC btw.

Thanks! and sorry, I just caught my left out words. It's three 7-8 week old pullets. lol

 

[AGeese]

Ah that sounds much better! Well can you get pics of the area?

 

[ChaosMom]

Ah that sounds much better! Well can you get pics of the area?

I'll have to sketch out what I'm up against, and it will have to be tomorrow. But thanks for your replies!

 

[DonyaQuick]

You said you're getting heavy breeds. It's actually my more medium build birds that tend to want (not necessarily "need") more horizontal room coming down from a roost, because their wings do more and they like to have a good swoop. My heaviest hen, a big cochin cross, goes nearly straight down like a rock and has little choice in that because of her build (flapping does nothing). All of my roosts and run perches are no more than 2ft off the ground. One of my flocks has tiered roosts at 1ft and 2ft with the lower roost out in front, which of course results in jumping out further from the 2ft roost if they really want to avoid the lower one and don't just want to drop straight down. However, I would think they'd pretty easly be able to learn how to jump down from a single 18" while avoiding a modestly sized poop board without smacking the wall on the other side.

 

[ChaosMom]

You said you're getting heavy breeds. It's actually my more medium build birds that tend to want (not necessarily "need") more horizontal room coming down from a roost, because their wings do more and they like to have a good swoop. My heaviest hen, a big cochin cross, goes nearly straight down like a rock and has little choice in that because of her build (flapping does nothing). All of my roosts and run perches are no more than 2ft off the ground. One of my flocks has tiered roosts at 1ft and 2ft with the lower roost out in front, which of course results in jumping out further from the 2ft roost if they really want to avoid the lower one and don't just want to drop straight down. However, I would think they'd pretty easly be able to learn how to jump down from a single 18" while avoiding a modestly sized poop board without smacking the wall on the other side.

Thanks, this is very encouraging!

 

[rosemarythyme]

To answer the basic question, yes ideally you want at least as much landing space in front of a roost as the roost is high, so 24" high roost should have 24" in front. Some birds flap more and may need a bit more space, some plummet and may need less space in front. But they can also adjust a bit as I have my nests (fully inside) directly across from the roost, so many of my birds come down diagonally to ensure they avoid it.

 

[Shadrach]

While you're thinking...
It's easy to get locked into a particular type of build. On BYC the popular coop and run configuration is like this;

The above configuration may be suitable for a large walk in coop and run but with regard to security it leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. Most coops are built out of wood, often it's OSB clad on a wooden frame. Even thick OSB isn't much of a challenge to a determined rat and while you may not have a rat problem now, once the word gets around that there is chicken food in the coop/run they'll show up with their relatives and rather than chew through the metal run fence, they'll opt for the easiest way in which is through the coop itself assuming the coop is based on the ground.

Currently you're planning on three heavyweight hens; this is likely to change.

For a small coop (not a wlak in coop) such as you are currently considering there is a better option that will give you more flexibility for increasing both coop and run size and provide a more secure environment for your birds.

With the above configuration one gets the security offered by the run fence protecting the coop and assuming the run is built large enough, access to all the sides of the coop within the run. Provide a ramp from ground to coop and most chickens will use it to leave the coop at least down to an easy ramp to floor jump height.

While it's true that most chickens prefer to roost as high as possible the height one is after can be gained by building the coop off the ground, be that on legs or two/three sides enclosed which will also serve as a sheltered space underneath the coop.
If the coop is built off the ground, say three to four feet off the ground then having roost bars in the coop at a height that doesn't require any plummeting, or flying to the coop floor, is fairly easy to achieve. Diving off a roost bar and dropping to the floor say five feet may be fine for young fit birds but not so great for older birds and not great for bumble foot, muscle strains and injuries due to flight path errors.

 

[aart]

I'll have to sketch out what I'm up against

Always a good idea, IMO, better to make mistakes and corrections on paper rather than in lumber.
Use graph paper so things are in scale.