Out of room on roosting bar

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lee3343

lee3343

In the Brooder
Aug 9, 2016
13
0
12
Eastern Shore of Maryland
We have a high roosting bar that is 36" with five girls. If they work at it, they all fit but lots of posturing going on. The last one tries to fly up and pushes one down. It gets ugly. I'm worried that since they're 4 1/2 months old and will get bigger this winter there won't be room for the five. Since our space is tight, would it be okay to add a bar perpendicular to the one already up there or would they not use it. I saw a suggestion in another post to move the feeder and waterer to the run which will give us more room. But I also read that the hens then won't want to go into the coop for the night. PLEASE ADVISE!!
 
I think perpendicular is a good idea. That should give them enough room.
They will never use all the space but one should plan on 18" of roost space per bird for LF.
 
I want advise on that too. It gets cold in Michigan. Do people feed and water outside in the winter
 
I keep my food and water in the run. I do have a waterer in the coop sometimes but not always. My coop is relatively large though so it hardly takes up any room.

ETA I do keep water in the coop in the winter because it's warmer in the coop so I rarely get frozen water in there. If we have a blizzard or bad storm (rare) I put food in there too, temporarily. This winter I might try warmers for the water in the run.
 
Last edited:
I keep water founts outside but nipple water in the coop so they can drink first thing in the morning.
I keep bulk feeders in the coop to keep incursion of wild birds at bay.
 
Chickens don't drink anything at night so you don't need water in the coop. It will just increase the humidity in there and may cause problems in the winter. I just put fresh water in the run every morning in the winter.
 

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