Got question about a good setup.......

[Chickenhuntin]

Everything is 3 foot tall. I have 32 sq feet of coop space and in process of adding about 60 sq foot of enclosed run space. Then we let them out for the weekend to free range in a 5 ft fenced in .75 acre yard. Should I mount a perch 2 foot high? I have 8 chickens with a rooster who is up in the air about staying. It is a Pure bred black Sumatra with a black small comb and a Long tail. (Off question, To anybody who owns one, Do they Crow as loud and often then normal chicken, Considering they are a wild game hybrid?) Do I have room to add for next season? I don't know if I want any, but the bug might set in next spring.lol Thanks!

 

[joletabey]

For some reason I think a 2 foot tall perch in a 3 foot tall area is not going to give enough head room for them to "fly" up and land- and generally you want 4 square feet per bird inside the coop, so you are at your limit, unless Sumatras are small? I know nothing about them. Hopefully someone more experienced than I am will jump in here.

 

[teach1rusl]

I'd do the roost at 18 inches. That way they have head room, and also room to walk under the roosts...

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I would just raise the roost 18 inches at the most. They can hop up or build them a small ramp up.

 

[patandchickens]

If the coop is only 3' high, a 2'-high roost isn't going to give them much in the way of headroom, even Sumatras. I would suggest making the roost more like 18".

I would not put any more chickens in there than you've got, fwiw -- there is only about 10 sq ft per chicken TOTAL (coop and run combined), which is pretty minimal, and the fact that they get out to free-range on weekends almost makes it *worse* in that they are likely to be extra crabby about NOT getting out during the week.

Sumatras are NOT a "game hybrid" btw, they are a domestic chicken breed like any other domestic chicken breed. Well I mean they are rather unique-looking, and developed as an old landrace rather than just recently, but they do NOT have wild heritage.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat