How much ventilation is too much for coop?

[Squawkers]

I think 32 is plenty! I was about to post this picture. This is what I was thinking earlier (nests in red) but I think you are fine.

 

[Squawkers]

32 inches from floor to bottom of vent.

So if you are looking at it from the side, it would look like

View attachment 3994033


That gives 6 feet of roosting space. I'm sure I can find somewhere to add an additional one as well. I could put one in the middle of the door way, or I could connect the two roosts and make one big one thats I shaped.

The only thing that is not the best is that the roost is right over the nest boxes, so they’ll get pooped on

 

[ThatsMyPurseIdontknowyou]

The only thing that is not the best is that the roost is right over the nest boxes, so they’ll get pooped on

ok. So when @aart said "You'll want the roosts above the nests " he didn't mean actually ABOVE the nests, just like, higher than the nests.

I understand.

I read they need to be tall enough for a chicken to walk under.

A chicken is like 14"-16" max tall.

So if I put the bottoms of my roosts at 18" from the floor, that should be plenty both for them to walk under and to not be effected by the vent too much.


I could do two 4.5' foot long roosts from one end to the other while still keeping them from pooping in the nesting boxes.

 

[aart]

So when @aart said "You'll want the roosts above the nests " he didn't mean actually ABOVE the nests, just like, higher than the nests.

I did, sorry for the confusion.
No, it wouldn't be good if they pooped into the nests....or right in front of them.

 

[Squawkers]

ok. So when @aart said "You'll want the roosts above the nests " he didn't mean actually ABOVE the nests, just like, higher than the nests.

I understand.

yes Sorry, didn't realize that wasn't understood.

I read they need to be tall enough for a chicken to walk under.

A chicken is like 14"-16" max tall.

So if I put the bottoms of my roosts at 18" from the floor, that should be plenty both for them to walk under and to not be effected by the vent too much.


I could do two 4.5' foot long roosts from one end to the other while still keeping them from pooping in the nesting boxes.

I would personally put the roosts 14"-16" tall just to make sure the chickens are well out of the draft. It won't bother the chickens much to have to duck a tad bit to get to the nests. I am not quite following the new roost plan, could you draw it? Sorry, I am very visual. I think you are saying doing the roost in the other direction, which is good, just make sure you have enough room in between the two roosts. You don't want anybody pooping on anybody else or pecking them on the head.

 

[ThatsMyPurseIdontknowyou]

yes Sorry, didn't realize that wasn't understood.

I would personally put the roosts 14"-16" tall just to make sure the chickens are well out of the draft. It won't bother the chickens much to have to duck a tad bit to get to the nests. I am not quite following the new roost plan, could you draw it? Sorry, I am very visual. I think you are saying doing the roost in the other direction, which is good, just make sure you have enough room in between the two roosts. You don't want anybody pooping on anybody else or pecking them on the head.

So if you are looking straight down from above.

 

[Squawkers]

So if you are looking straight down from above.

View attachment 3994068

yeah, I think that is better. Three feet is pretty tight, but I think you could make it work though. As long as they are the same height nobody should be pooping on each other (wouldn't put it past them though) and I think you probably have enough roost space for them to avoid the meanies

 

[rosemarythyme]

So if you are looking straight down from above.

View attachment 3994068

IMO too tight to put 2 across 3' of width (and is that an actual 3' interior depth, or 3' exterior measurement which means the inside is even smaller?) You really do want at least 14-16" between roosts (and 12" from the wall) to prevent birds reaching over and bonking each other.

I think realistically two 3' roosts perpendicular and restricting yourself to 6 birds max is a better plan. Birds can squeeze in on roosts (my flock, currently 10 birds, insist on sharing 5.5' of roost) but it's always best to give them options to spread out.

 

[RoyalChick]

Why not take the nest boxes out of the roosting box and hang them outside?

 

[Squawkers]

If you could it might be best to put the nests on the outside. That way you could have the roosts in the same spot as your original plan without them pooping in the nest. One of the most frustrating things is if the chicken coop layout isn’t good. I HATED my first coop. The roosts were too low causing some to sleep in the nests, which was a big pain. And they were also to close together, causing my brama to peck my bantam on the head every night, sending her screaming out of the coop. She eventually just refused to go in the coop because she was so scared. (My brama was about ten pounds and the bantam was about 1.5 pounds) Ideally, the nests should be quite a big lower than the sleeping area to keep them from sleeping in the nests. But I remember you or your wife saying something about y’all’s backs, so maybe just as low as y’all are comfortable with.