Chicken roosts problem

[rosemarythyme]

HHH, hey! So, i’ll post a pic of the current roost. Its 2 8ft long roosts that are only about a ft apart. At night the 6 girls all to to one corner and 3 will be on one roost, and the other 3 on the other roost. Ok, lots of fighting over the ‘window seat’. I just removed one bar, and put it lower, like 4 inches above coop floor and left the other one alone, which is like 12 inches above the floor/litter. There are only 5 in there now. Should i just remove one roost bar all together or leave it lower?? Thanks in advance!

Is there any way to get the two roosts further than 12" apart (while still maintaining a spacing of 12" to the wall) but still have them at the same level? 14-16" apart would be better. I'm wondering if the roosts being so close together is the issue, rather than actual roost length availability?

If not, technically, a single 8' roost is enough for your flock. I wonder how they'd adjust as far as the fighting if they only had the one roost to use - it seems counterintuitive to remove a roost but changing it up could kinda juggle their behavior too. Because their inclination to smoosh together isn't really a problem, however the pecking is.

 

[3KillerBs]

Im not sure why i did that either. I can put it back B4 dark. I just lowered it. Its that darn spot near the window only on one side. Can you think of something I can put on the roosts to keep them from smooshing up against that window??? Thats my current thinking. 3KB’s, any ideas??

If they're not hurting each other then I don't see any reason why they shouldn't sleep there like that.

I figure that chickens know how to be chickens better than I know how to be a chicken so I give them options and let them choose what they like.

Thanks HHH

Those photos are so airy and nice!

 

[Chickie_Momma_91]

Yea I guess I’ll just put two in on either side of the windows and take out the ladder

You can easily use brackets to hold them up so that they can be taken out for cleaning purposes. Either make little shelves or buy actual brackets.

 

[aart]

My roost is a ladder but vertical.

Don't the lower ones get pooped on?

 

[aart]

no the lower rooster has attached to the left side of the wall while the ladder roost is attached to the front wall like when you open the door u can see the ladder roost and look to your left there's the bottom rost. I hope that makes sense lol. the lower ones also don't roost close the other roost as they can still get pecked.

So it's at an angle....."vertical" makes me think straight up and down.

 

[aart]

ohhh sorry I meant to say horizontal.

Vertical = |
Horizontal = ___
Angled = /

 

[BeccaRecca13]

Same exact setup on the other side of the 2 8ft roosts! Sooo many windows, plenty of ventilation I’ve noticed. One thing comes to mind tho…..the window they choose, is the one closest to my coop (house), lmao. And thats where their brooder was. Coop is not too far from house! Do you think they choose this window because of that reason?! So frustrating. Girls! Theres another window right at the other end of that roost your on! I tell them…. Hey, maybe tonight, I’ll put a couple of them down the line to the other window??

My girls usually go in at about 8:30 to get the best seat in the roosts. It's always the spot closest to the door and the spot on the top roost I now have 1 lady who goes in extra early at 7:30 and makes a ruckus that she got the best spot... Soon after, all the others go in and jump up and try to push over to that spot. I have 4 roosts, all at 8 feet long. I used 2x3's because the size was more appealing to me
We have windows on all sides and they still bicker about that single spot. It's of normal everyday squabble!! LOL ( :

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

My girls usually go in at about 8:30 to get the best seat in the roosts. It's always the spot closest to the door and the spot on the top roost I now have 1 lady who goes in extra early at 7:30 and makes a ruckus that she got the best spot... Soon after, all the others go in and jump up and try to push over to that spot. I have 4 roosts, all at 8 feet long. I used 2x3's because the size was more appealing to me
We have windows on all sides and they still bicker about that single spot. It's of normal everyday squabble!! LOL ( :

Thats really funny and was enjoyable to read.

 

[Cackel Shack]

Please post pictures of the inside of your coop. You want to try to hit 1 foot of roost space per bird.
I prefer to have all the roosts at the same height.

So I have twelve chickens and three 3 foot long roosts. But they don’t really use the bottom one because it’s only 8 inches off the ground. They are super crowded on the two roosts and are pecking each other for the best roosting spots. When they get bigger I don’t think they’ll have enough room (they are only 10 weeks old) when they are older. I do have room to put in two more roosts that are as high as the two highest ones. Should I put them in?

Why don’t you just get a long flat board about 4-5 inches wide, 8-10’ long and brace it to either end of your henhouse leaving a space between the wall. All of the chickens could get on it. They prefer a flat board to dowels because chickens don’t wrap their feet around dowels or branches in the way wild birds do. Their feet are not designed for that, they prefer a flat surface to rest on. Better balance for body shape and comfort. This is what I do and my chickens love it.

 

[Chicalina]

Why don’t you just get a long flat board about 4-5 inches wide, 8-10’ long and brace it to either end of your henhouse leaving a space between the wall. All of the chickens could get on it. They prefer a flat board to dowels because chickens don’t wrap their feet around dowels or branches in the way wild birds do. Their feet are not designed for that, they prefer a flat surface to rest on. Better balance for body shape and comfort. This is what I do and my chickens love it.

I'm not sure that is true about chicken feet.