perchs

[tav1]

I have a coop that houses 3 reds and I want to put up some perches......I have 2x4's that I could put up.
those ok? or should I find round branches

 

[Ridgerunner]

Just to see how much difference it makes I’ve tried round tree branches, 2x4’s on edge, and 2x4’s flat. I’ve concluded that people care about this a lot more than the chickens do. Do whichever is most convenient to you. The chickens won’t care.

If you use the 2x4’s I suggest sanding the corners a bit. Some people will say this is to make it easier for the chickens’ feet to grip, but I do it to remove splinters.

 

[tav1]

I just put them up but seems a little high to jump up to. how high should it be from the ground?

 

[Ridgerunner]

That depends a bit on your coop and your chickens. At least you don’t have Silkies. Silkies can’t fly so that can make it more complicated.

Roosts need to be higher than anything you don’t want your chickens sleeping in, like the nests. Chickens normally like to sleep as high as they can get and they poop a lot when they roost. You don’t want that poop in the nests.

Chickens also need enough room to spread their wings and fly up to the roosts and to fly down. I’m not sure how big your coop is and how much clear room you have. With only three chickens it might be pretty tight in there. If they have clear room Reds should not have any problems flying up five feet or more once they are ready to roost. My roosts are five feet high and my full sized chickens have no problems getting up there. The higher the roosts the more clear space they need to get up and down.

The way I determine roost height is to determine floor height, including any bedding. Then set the nests. Some people like nests on the floor, some hang them high enough that they don’t have to bend over to get the eggs. Then put the roosts higher than the nests. I like the roosts as low as possible yet about a foot higher than the nests.