Thanks, bhromada! Since putting in my perches I've learned that apparently mites can hide in bark, but at the time it was what I had available, plus I was thinking the uneven texture would be good for preventing arthritis
Thanks for the compliment, Stiggy! Yes I could see myself getting attached to all of them and ending up with a ridiculous number of birds. My mom did that and had well over 50 chickens at one point, I think she has whittled down her flock a little since then.
Since I'm new here I thought I'd post a pic of my hens! I finally remembered to take my phone out to the coop with me and got a shot of all of them (except my broody girl) on their roost just before going to sleep.
Left to right, we've got Chicken Julia (Barred Rock), Speckles (Speckled...