Natural Limb Roosts

[ChikaD]

I've never been a bird owner, but I know that pet birdies are supposed to sit on natural branch perches instead of straight bars because the natural irregularities in the branch are better for their feet- a strait, uniform bar forces them to keep their feet in the same pose, while natural branches allow them to adjust a bit. Would it not be the same for chickens? ...well, I guess I dont know how a chicken rests. Do they perch on their feet, or settle and rest their weight on their tummies? Do their feet relax, or grip the roost? I imagine them gripping the roost, but now I am wondering.

 

[mcrowe315]

I use regular left over 2x4s And 1x4s have not had any problems and the chickens seem to be happy.....

 

[squabels]

I have cedar trees for roost and 2x4 in the coop. The birds are always on the cedar tree but it is the highest. On the plus side it does help with smell and they like to scrath the stringy bark off which keeps the smells of cedar fresh. Please post back if you find any studies on this good luck on your search thanks.

 

[mcrowe315]

People have said on this site and others that cedar was bad for chickens something about their breathing??? Is that not accurate?

 

[mrsmayo]

I believe that pertains to cedar shavings, I'm not 100% sure though

 

[debid]

I have a couple tree roosts. Pros -- free, looks good, has better grip when they jump on than a smoother surface. I chose ones that are pretty thick and relatively straight so they still hold their feet pretty flat. As I understand it, they relax the grip while sleeping, unlike parrots, and flatter feet are more easily covered in winter. Cons -- more places for mites to live than with milled lumber. I've sprayed liberally with a neem/pyrethrin spray a couple times to make it (and the rest of the coop) inhospitable for mites.

 

[debid]

People have said on this site and others that cedar was bad for chickens something about their breathing??? Is that not accurate?

This is debated but it's generally accepted that there is some quantity of cedar aroma that is unhealthful. In a closed space, fresh cedar aroma can build up. And some cedar species are more aromatic than others. However, there are old timers who use cedar for chicks and nestboxes and would argue that experience wins over theory. Heck, some coops are built with cedar! I suspect it isn't quite the deadly poison it is sometimes made out to be.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Someone had a nice sketch of the tendons, bones, and claws of a chicken when it squats down on a branch. The squatting naturally tightens the grip of the claws. What survival instinct would cause them to loosen their grip when they are sleeping so they could fall out? I’m sorry Debid, that fails the common sense test plus goes against what I see in my coop.

You can use tree branches or sawn lumber as roosts. The chickens don’t mind. If you use something like a 2x4, I suggest you sand off the sharp corners, not just to make it more comfortable when they grip but to get rid of splinters.

Some people will tell you that you have to use a 2x4 and lay it wide side up so they cover their feet when they sleep to keep them warm. What I see in my coop is that when they squat down when it’s cold they fluff up their feathers a bit. Just like wild birds sleeping in trees and bushes in the winter, this covers their toes, even when they are sleeping on the smaller portion of my tree branch roosts.

There is nothing wrong with using a 2x4 with the flat side up, the chickens will do fine. They are not going to have foot problems or sleep problems from that as long as you smooth out the sharp corners.

If you look at the size of their feet, I would not use a tree branch or piece of lumber smaller than the narrow side of a 2x4, which is 1-1/2”. Wider is fine. Their toes spread out a surprising amount. If you are spanning much distance you might need a larger diameter tree branch anyway for structural strength.

With all the discussion on here about this, I tried an experiment. When I was integrating some younger chickens I added some lumber roosts to my tree branch roosts. What changed? Nothing. The adults slept on the tree branches like they always had. The only ones to use the lumber were a couple of young chicks trying to get as far from the adults as possible, a normal reaction for immature chicks during integration.

Don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s really not that important. Like a lot of other things on here, it matters a lot more to people than to the chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cedar has a quality that can be harmful. That’s why girl’s “hope chests” used to be made of cedar. The fumes given off kept the moths and other insects from ruining the clothes kept in there. But that was a closed chest with no ventilation. I remember opening up Mom’s cedar chest. You’d get a blast of that cedar smell.

As long as you have reasonable ventilation, there is nothing wrong with using cedar lumber in a coop or even a brooder as long as it does have good ventilation.

However do not use cedar shavings. The cedar shavings have a lot more surface area than a solid block of wood and will give off a lot more of those fumes.

 

[Cheyen]

I use limbs in my coop and run. At one point we had both limbs and pvp/wood roosts, but they really seemed to prefer the limbs, so we took them out. I don't know about cedar limbs, but I know cedar shavings aren't good for them. I wouldn't risk using cedar limbs, to be honest. Mine are all birch, and they hold up just fine.