How to Build a Chicken Coop - Roosts and Nests

If you are planning to build your own chicken coop, you have to consider where to place the chicken roosts and the nesting boxes because chickens prefer to sleep and lay their eggs on raised platform and boxes.

Why is this so? Because it is their instinct to protect themselves from predators during their sleep thus they develop the necessity to stay safe by sleeping on branches of trees. Most predators are instinctively land predators so being able to avoid their attacks when they are vulnerable is one way of protecting themselves. This is one instinct that we cannot alter in order to make our chickens comfortable so we have to give them roosting places accordingly.

For the nesting boxes, it is not necessary they must be positioned as high as the roosting posts but it is ideal if they would be placed below the roosting area. Experience tells us that once we position the nesting boxes as high as the roosts, then most likely, the chickens will sleep in them as well and will make the boxes dirty along with the eggs that are on them.

Keep in mind that when you will be making the roosts make sure that all of them are leveled the same so avoid installing them one higher over the others because you can expect some droppings on the roosts that are below other roosts. Other than that, chickens usually prefer the highest roosts so if some roosts are higher than the others, the tendency would be for the chickens to fight over the highest roosts. So the best idea is to put all these on the same height and level, about 10 to 12 inches away from each other.

Roosts can be made of wood or metal but the most convenient way is having them constructed from wood. Chickens scratch on the roosts when they are asleep so with wood they could have a good grip in them and secure them thoroughly. Many people with chicken coops use dowel for their roosts but most of the time, chickens have a hard time grabbing them. The spruce or pine 2 x 2 inches in diameter is best for roosting wood because they are from soft wood.

For the nesting boxes, wood is also preferable than other materials. The nesting boxes should be around four inches deep to make the egg-laying chickens feel secure when laying their eggs. When you have already made the nest boxes, put straw in them or hay to make layers more comfortable. The straw will also protect the eggs from bumping into the wood and cracking it.

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