Can anyone show me pics of their roosts?

Giddyup

Songster
11 Years
Oct 22, 2008
153
2
119
Vancouver Island, BC
Trying to configure them...hubby and I are butting heads as to the support. I was going to run them from wall to wall, with support under each end. Black Australorps are the bird, and there may be 4-8 at any given time.

House is probably 6x6 floor width/length, 8 feet high.

dowling vs. 2x4? I was going to use a thick dowling.

I'd LOVE to see your photos to help me plan...I'll need to build this puppy on my own.
 
Inside the coop I have 2 x 2's in each corner going from stud to stud. Outside I have a 4 x 4 x 8 set about 2 feet in the ground with concrete and 2 x 2's on each side at different heights so they do not poop on each other.
Outdoor roost
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Outdoor close up
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Indoor for larger birds
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Indoor much lower for younger birds
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I'm new but like the set up would be willing to hear any ideas.
 
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i have something similar right now, with the corner roost. Had 2 nice ones until the alpaca got himself in there and wrecked the lower, longer one
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Does the 2x2 seem wide enough for adult bird feet? (I love your bird btw, all leg & feet!
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)

I hadn't thought of an outdoor one...

Keep 'em coming!
 
Here's part of our roosts: This one has a ramp that the chickens can walk up to get onto the shelf part and then jump to the roosts. However, I've never actually seen any of our chickens using the ramp... they just jump/fly up to the bottom roost and then up to the top one. You can see that my goats made sure it was safe and sturdy before allowing the chickens to use it... aren't they thoughtful?
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(The feeder was hung up at the moment to keep the little goaties out of the chicken feed while they were inside helping us.)

In this picture you can see the first roost in the background. Then my sweet hubby added the 2x4s across the top of the roofline - this roost is 8 ft up in the air and it's their favorite. Most of them use it and not the lower roosts.

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Using 2x4's with the wide side makes a great roost by letting the chickens sit on their feet to keep them warm in cold weather. That may not be an issue for you - just a thought.
 
One of mine is visible in the pic of the sussexes on my personal page (link at left), if that's any use.

2x2 is ok in non-frostbitey climates, which you probably more or less are (and am I ever jealous! <vbg>), but if it's going to be a looong roost you will find it is stronger to use a 2x4 on edge, because a 2x2 will sag alarmingly under the birds' weight if the span is too long. Make sure to round the edges off a bit if they're sharply squarish.

Flat is better than dowelling (rounded *large* tree branches are ok, since the part they're on is effectively pretty flat, and they *can* perch on like closet poles or the like if necessary, but chickens are by nature largely ground-dwelling birds and do not grip the perch the way parrots or sparrows do, they more just stand on it, so there is some advantage to a wider flatter surface.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat
 
Here's a pic of our 2" by 4" roosts:

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Since this pic was taken, the roosts are on the same level (upper 2 by 4 section). Not sure what the height is from the floor to the roost (using the deep litter method as far as litter goes so the height always varies and we're raising Bantams.


Dawn
 
I too would recommend 2 x 4's so they don't have to balance or grip anything. (Actually, I used left over deck 1 x 4).

Make it ladder fashion so they don't poop on each other. I started with mine 1 1/2 ft up and then another 1 1/2 feet to the second 2 x 4. They just fly up. Some fly up to the second one 3 ft up.

When they get older, I'll make a higher one. Currently, I have it barely screwed in, but plan to put eye hooks on the ends to hook on to something so I can just unhook to remove for cleaning the roost and coop.

My ten girls are 7 1/2 wks old in the coop for 5 days now that still use the stock tank brooder to sleep in at night rather than the roost.

They play on the roost during the day.

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