Bi-level Roost Bars for Chicken Coop
When our chicks grow, they will need roost bars! I built them some today.
We will put the roosts up on a “Droppings board” in the coop before the chicks move in.
The “droppings board” or “Poop boards” will be at a comfortable height for us to clean up after the chickens. The idea is that we can clean up with a scoop, sort of like cleaning the kitty litter. The chickens do most of their pooping while sleeping on the roosts at night.
Of course, the roost boards themselves will get covered in Chicken Poop as well. We will be able to take them outside for periodic thorough cleaning.
Project details
Lumber required
- 8 ft 2×4
- 8 ft 2×3
- 2 x4 for support pieces – 2 @ 18″ for base, 2 at 6 inches for lower lift, and 2@ 18″ for higher lift.
I just screwed it all together… It probably should have had glued as well, for extra strength… I might add a corner brace at the bottom of the taller supports.
It was recommended that the roosts be a foot apart and a foot difference in height, so that is what we did. Now we have 16 feet of roost space. That will be more than enough for now… But with chicken math we will likely need more down the line.
I used dimensional lumber for the actual roost bars, but rough cut for the supports. We usually use rough cut for everything, but I wanted the bars to be smoother for the chickens.
The recommendations, for our cold climate, is to use 2×4 for the roosts, wide side up. I decided to make the lower roost with a 2×3 to accommodate younger or smaller birds.
Project #2 – PVC Chick feeder
This was ridiculously easy! I don’t know why I put it off for so long.
Pieces required:
- a length of 2″ PVC pipe. It came in 6 ft or 12 foot lengths. I got 6 ft because that is all I could fit in my car…
- two 2″ PVC caps
- a 2″ PVC “Y” connector.
How To:
To cut the PVC Pipe, I used my circular saw, but you can use a hack saw if you don’t have power tools. To go between the bottom of the Y and the bottom cap, I cut a 2 inch piece of pipe. I cut a 2 foot piece for above the Y, but you can make it as tall as you like.
This PVC Chick feeder will be perfect to hold Oyster shells for the chickens. I will probably make another one for chicken feed. It is handy in that you can store quite a bit of product in the upright part of the feeder, and the chickens won’t waste it all.
The Goats don’t want to be left out…
The Goats would like some PVC feeders too! For them, the feeders would be made with 3″ PVC to hold goat minerals, Salt, etc.
