Perch suggestions pls

[Missa Chickabee]

I am also about to finish my coop with the same final touches. I plan to try a couple of different roosts to see which they prefer. One idea I had was to use a wooden closet rod and the other was make one out of 2x4's. Use two 2x4's for the sides and put 3 2x4's inbetween them at each a differnt height.

Some folks recommend the roosting places to be all at the same height to discourage pecking order problems as the head hen will always opt for the highest spot and the picked-on one will always be assigned the lowest (or..in chicken minds...I think....the most unsafe) place.

Gotta restate the importance of the poop board link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-graphic-gross-poop-pictures/430#post_9487122

What the poop board does, besides ease of cleaning where most of the poop lands, is that it captures more coop living space below. Perusing through the thread, you can see how some have utilized the space. (great for smaller coops)

-food and water under the poop board
-nesting boxes can go under there
-Someone on post #146 I think, put a brooder pen under there....or a place to put younger chickens before integration

 

[jackhorn01]

Yeah, I'm liking that design the more I read about it. I plan to build that addition to my coop as soon as I am able to. With that design, for 14 hens, how long of a board do they need to roost on? And is one long one if you have the room always better than two smaller ones since they like to cuddle.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

Well, I'm opting for one long one for my 19 birds. I'm hoping the 11 1/2 ft they get will do them. The reason I want one is that then I reach just fine to the back of the PDZ-filled poop board to clean. If I need any more space than that then I think I'll put one above my nesting boxes on the opposite sides of the coop like they did on that other site. Maybe what I have will do. They all like to crowd themselves together anyway, sometimes pracitically on top of each other.

 

[Going Quackers]

How wide is that board

6 inches.. so they can comfortably cuddle and move about on it.

 

[Going Quackers]

Yeah, I'm liking that design the more I read about it. I plan to build that addition to my coop as soon as I am able to. With that design, for 14 hens, how long of a board do they need to roost on? And is one long one if you have the room always better than two smaller ones since they like to cuddle.

I read each bird needs a min of 12 inches, hence our 4ft board.. 4 birds 12 inches a piece equals a 4ft board.. ours is a little longer but the idea is understood lol

 

[debid]

If you figure 1' per bird, you'll have more than enough roost space. They can get by with less but in the heat, they'll appreciate having some room to let air flow between them.

I've noticed that even with the roost all at the same height, they still have preferred positions (near the windows is the most desirable space around here) and higher ranking birds will peck if someone tries to take their spot. Sometimes they'll even squabble over the order that they hop up to the roost. They're as bad a kids -- just looking for something to argue about.

Oh, and I used standing dead wood for mine. It's a young tree that was shaded to death, about 4" in diameter. I just sprayed it heavily with a neem/pyrethrin blend (organic fruit tree spray) and let it dry in the sun before using. That eliminates any bugs that have moved in as well as making the roost repellant for a time. I treated it again when I did the big, annual cleaning and so far (16 months later) it's holding up great.

 

[jackhorn01]

Thanks for the ideas

 

[Missa Chickabee]

Gosh, even when it was hot they would pile up on the roost in farthest corner from the door. I'm all for giving them extra room, though. I'm going to have to put some wire over the poop board under the roost or they will be dust-bathing in the PDZ.