how many on a perch?

[nomonewbies]

Just finishing up the coop and I need to know how many adult Buff Orpingtons can fit on a 10' perch. This would be both summer and winter. The coop is 10 feet wide and I would like to have the perch run the full width but do I need more room? If the perch is full, will the other(s) sit on the floor? Or (gag) on the poop board? How about if I put a flat board on top of the 4' nesting box and another perch above that? My 25 chicks are coming next week Friday and I would like to have the coop done, even though they won't be using the perch(es) for a while. The coop, BTW is 10' x 12' with 3 windows on the south 10' wall and would like the perches in front of and slightly below the windows.

Hugh aka nomonewbies (North Missouri newbies)

 

[kerriliane]

my coop has too many chickens for the size of it, so i added two new runs.. i still have the same 5 hens, cuddle together on the floor. I have bantie sit on another chickens back on the new perch.. It's quite silly!

You can see in the 2nd one all the chickens on the floor.. yea.. they like to sleep there..

My coop is like 8x8 I think because on 8ft 2x3 was just a wee bit too long to fit inside.

if they don't want to roost, they'll go in a nest box, or onthe floor.. whereever they feel like it.

 

[newchicksnducks]

Why not add a second perch? My 8x8 coop has two perches for my current 14 girls. Most like to use the slightly higher perch, with the 3 younger ones on the lower perch with a random hen also using it once in a while. So that means that usually there are around 10 hens on the 8 ft roost. (My flock consists of BO sized birds, one a BO, othes include BA, GLW, EE, etc). Here is how I use two roosts. The roosts are about 10-12 inches from each other and the outside wall.

You really want to have room for all the birds to be able to roost, IMO.

 

[elmo]

I think it's recommended to have at least 10-12 inches of roost width for each bird. They will end up roosting closer to each other than that (at least the ones who are buddies will), but there will often be a fair amount of jostling around for position as they settle in at night, and having enough space helps avoid stressful conflicts.

You certainly can add another roost...or two.