Best materials for roosts?

[Howard E]

Lets try this once again........

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/proper-design-of-roost-bars.1197058/

Still waiting for someone to produce scientific evidence to support claims that birds want or need a board.....wide side up. Scientific studies have always concluded just the opposite.

This photo was taken in an old chicken house that may be close to 100 years old.


Hard to see because of all the lathes stacked on top of them, but look close and you will see an array of roost bars......all 2 x 2 and all on the same level. NO LADDERS!!!

And that is an old school droppings board beneath them. Those guys actually wanted the droppings clean and pure. It was fertilizer for the crops.

 

[JesusHChicken]

Lets try this once again........

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/proper-design-of-roost-bars.1197058/

Still waiting for someone to produce scientific evidence to support claims that birds want or need a board.....wide side up. Scientific studies have always concluded just the opposite.

This photo was taken in an old chicken house that may be close to 100 years old.
View attachment 1255298

Hard to see because of all the lathes stacked on top of them, but look close and you will see an array of roost bars......all 2 x 2 and all on the same level. NO LADDERS!!!

And that is an old school droppings board beneath them. Those guys actually wanted the droppings clean and pure. It was fertilizer for the crops.

I went with 2x3 instead of the popular 2x4. I guess it's closer to the perches used in study since 2"x3" are actually 1.5"x2.5". It just seemed more natural a bird would like to grip by curling toes slightly around bar. Birds seem happy.

 

[centrarchid]

From what I understand, roosts should be 2x4's with the 4" side being the one they stand on. Or at least something that is wide enough for them to stand flat footed on. Both because they aren't meant to grip rounds like your average bird and because they can get their feet completely covered up with their bodies when it's cold. I have 1x4's in one coop and 2x4's in the other, with the 2" side up, but that is getting changed this spring. I know everyone is different and prefers different things, but that is what I'm choosing to do and the reason why!

No basis in fact, yet a very popular concept.

 

[centrarchid]

I use wooden dowels in most situations. When kept out of weather they can more than a human lifetime. They are pricey and tougher than 2 x 4's to affix to supports but more regular in dimension and application than tree branches. They are interchangeable when not cut making consistent design of roost setups more practical.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I'm redoing my coop come spring an was thinking of replacing my roosts which are large thick tree branches. Should I use something else?

I used tree branches with reclaimed 1x4's from pallets screwed to the top. It was all free and my chicken are happy. So sorry if this was already addressed or shot down I just was too lazy to read all 5 pages of the responses. Apologies.

 

[FlyWheel]

If you stop for a moment and think about it tree branches are the best. Chickens are roosting birds, and where do you think they roosted for the millions of years before we came along? (hint: 2x4s we're hard to come by in the chicken's natural habitat)

P.S. And I pity the mouse that finds it way up onto my girl's roost!

 

[JackE]

I needed three roost bars to span an eight foot space. Science, theories, a chicken's grip, did not even figure into it. I just need three straight boards, that could be quickly, and easily removed when I wanted. 2X4"s filled the bill. Just cut them to length, and popped them in there. I've counted fifteen birds on one, so they are more than strong enough to do the job. Don't have to worry about mites hiding in them, like they do, in an old cracked branch that I pulled out of the woods.

 

[Howard E]

Using a 2 x 3 or even 2 x 4 would be a logical thing to do if you had one......the point being it gets installed NARROW side up.....not wide side. The reason 2 x 2's are recommended is for cost.....they cost less than a 2 x 4.

I can see why so many fall for the notion of keeping toes warm. First......it fits what many of us have issues with......cold feet. So we project that onto the birds comfort without thinking or knowing what it is they really need. A roost bar to latch on to and rest on. If all we give them is a 2 x 4 or 2 x 8 or 6" round tree trunk, they will use it, but that does not mean it is optimum. The 2 x 2 is actually optimum over a round 2" branch as it gives them a wider, flatter surface to rest their keel bones on.

Back to cold feet.......keep in mind, this would be applicable for at most, a few weeks or so out of the year.....depending on climate. Not an issue the rest of the year. Worse.....they bury their feet in the same feathers to keep their toes warm either way. So the whole thing of 2 x 4 flat side up gets blown up every which way you look at it, as long as you examine the notion critically.

Urban myths die hard.

 

[Howard E]

One additional advantage that never gets discussed is when a bird parks herself on a wide board, what happens to the droppings in the middle of the night? On a 2 x 2, they fall through space. On a wide board, most likely they get dropped onto the board they are sitting on and they proceed to sit in that all night long.

 

[JackE]

You have never seen me post about keeping their toes warm, with a 2X4. When they are roosting on the board, their toes are hanging over, wrapped around the edge of the board (Whatever size it is) anyway. So it really doesn't make any difference.