help me turn this into a roost, please

[speckledhen]

Much really depends on the size of your birds. I have just built a new bantam coop and the roost bars are 2x2's with sanded edges, but they are Belgian D'Anvers so their feet are very small. My Orp boy and his women have a shelf to roost on just 21" from the ground, made from a frame and plastic green garden fencing so he doesn't come down and hurt his leg.

 

[macadam8157]

Quote:
Well ma'am I'm still a newbie so not quite sure how big my baby girls will get??? But no Rooster in the mix at least I hope not , if that makes a difference in pole size?

 

[speckledhen]

Roosters are definitely the largest, however, my Blue Orp girls have huge legs and big feet, too. The normal standard like a Rock or Wyandotte, especially the hatchery types, don't tend to be as large and they'd do okay on a slightly smaller roost. Believe it or not, they do fall off the roosts sometimes so my main roost consists of 2x4s with broad side up and 2x3s from a large pallet so they can keep their footing.

 

[Dobela]

Let me see if I have this right - if I have 30 birds and give them 10 inches each, then I need at least 300 inches of roost for them to share. I can get that much form the railing I bought. Someone else said 12 inches per bird in another thread -that would be over 400 inches. So I would have to add more.

IS roost one of those things where more is better?

 

[Judy]

Not really. They cuddle together toward the "high rank" spot -- and they jostle and fuss over who gets which spot. The 10" and 12" variation has more to do with bird size, I think -- and you shouldn't have any really large birds. I looked up your browns because I'd never heard of them and I think the adults are supposed to be 3 or 4 lbs. A big Orp rooster is liable to weigh 12 pounds or more. BSL and EE hens should run, I don't know, maybe 6 lbs, not huge anyway. So I imagine the 10" will do it. My seven hens, around 6-7 lbs. each, sleep in maybe 40" of space, they cuddle so closely. They spread out a little when the nights get hot, but not much.

 

[Dobela]

Quote:
Thank you. It is all becoming clearer now