You’ll lose some length on the original 4’ bar, depending on how far it is from the wall, plus hens probably won’t want to overlap at the intersection 🤣, but this might buy you an extra foot or so.
You might consider laying it at a right angle to the first one, making an L, at the same height. I don’t know how long your coop is, which is relevant to having them face one another. It’s good to have “fly-down” space in front of the roost bar(s), although if they’re not high off the coop...
How long is the longer roost bar? One linear foot per (eventual 😉) chicken is often recommended, although many will snuggle up more tightly. On the other hand, some cranky ones can demand more room.
A cockerel-raising question for @Shadrach and anyone else who does broody-raised chickening:
I read the guess-the-breed-and-gender thread for fun. There is often wailing and gnashing of teeth when a young chicken starts looking like a roo, accompanied by “it’s always the boys who are so sweet...
Can you post a picture of your current coop and run? What do you use as "flooring" (litter) in your run?
Many have found that, except in certain climates, sand makes smells worse.
For now, you might try some zeolite, often called Sweet PDZ or stall sweetener. It absorbs a lot of the ammonia...
Hi, everyone! A little flocklet of three 15-week-old pullets here: 1 barred rock, 1 buff Orp, 1 Easter egger.
We've had them about 8 weeks now, and they still haven't established a clear pecking order. It's been fascinating to watch them go back and forth between who bosses whom. They do have...
Apropos of nothing at all, but the laughing cats reminded me: last night my husband made quesadillas, and they were nice and spicy. 🌶️
Our cat of Deeply Unstable Emotions and Temperament decided to lick his plate when he was done, and when the spice hit, she hissed at him! 😾 Little weirdo.
Just a comment: my pullets recently tasted a daffodil, said the chicken equivalent of “bleh,” and haven’t tasted them since. No guarantees, of course, but they are often good about not eating what they shouldn’t. Styrofoam peanuts excepted, of course.
I wonder if the writer of what you saw was trying to say 1x2 (1" by 2") instead. I can see a determined smaller predator "weaseling" (ha) in through that size gap.
Are any of the branches long enough to reach the ground, with some to spare?
If so, you can make that cut in the branch where it can easily touch the ground, add the rooting compound, and pin it to the earth, either with a landscape staple, or by making as X of two small stakes, just enough to...
I’m sorry, this sounds tough! 🙁
What’s your ideal flock? Productive layers? Compatible with one another? Interesting feathering/egg colors? Good foragers? Friendly with humans (you)? And any of these can be “right”.
If your ideal is a flock comfortable around you, there’s your answer.
Found a “before” picture of the south slope on the left. In the interim, much had died out, and the only things that did bloom did so in the spring. The camera exaggerates the slope, but not by much. 🥵