Please answer my Roost q's?

[Chicken0Boy]

1) How many roosts do I need for 5 hens & 1 roo? ( 2 Silkie hens, 1 D'Uccle hen, 1 Dominique hen, and 1 EE hen. The rooster will be a Phoenix)
2) How thick?
3) How long?
4) How high?

 

[Zahboo]

I use 1' per bird. So 6' long. 2x4s with the 4" long part facing up. They can roost on the same one or you can have different heights and the alpha hen and roos will roost higher.

 

[LindsayB]

great...I have the 2" side facing up on mine. Is this going to be a problem? Should I fix it?

 

[Big George]

I have only used 2x2's which are a little narrower. I set them in a slot so I can slide them out when its time to clean the coop.

 

[teach1rusl]

I agree that you'll want about 6 ft. of roost.
IMO, if you get cold winters, the 4" side (which is act. about 3 1/2") of a 2x4" facing up is better. It gives them a flat surface so that their feet/toes can sit flat and be totally covered by their feathers when they sit down. If your coop is well insulated, or you're in a warm weather area, or you have bantams with tiny feet, then this kind of becomes a non-issue, especially if they use them without any problems.

 

[patandchickens]

A total of 6' of roost would be good, but your birds if sitting close together will not actually *occupy* more than about 3-3.5' of roost, so if you are very tight on space you may well be able to get by with something towards those smaller numbers, it just gives you less margin for error if there are some birds that don't get along well.

Because 2 of the birds will be silkies, they'll need the roost low enough they can hop up onto it. This may conflict with wanting to have a higher roost if you are hoping your phoenix will develop a nice long tail, but, whatcha gonna do. One option would be to make a ladder-style roost, perhaps that would be the best idea in this situation?

LindsayB, unless you are in a very cold part of TX with a very open drafty cold coop, you will likely be fine with just a 2" wide roost; although in general IMO it is *better* to use a wider roost, even in hot climates.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Thanks you guys!

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
Everything I 've read is to use a 2x2. A 4" grasp would not be good for bantams.

6' long would be plenty. Chickens huddle for warmth.

How high would depend on your coop. A ft high to start is ok. Too high and a bantam won't be able to get on it. This happened last night when Frenchy went in with my standard Dels. Theirs is 3-4 ft. high.
I have another that starts out lower, about 1ft. up to 6 rungs. I've seen my bantams get to the top.

 

[patandchickens]

Bantams fly *really* well (well, except silkies obviously); higher roosts are certainly not a problem for them.

And since chickens do not really hold onto a perch the way, say, sparrows do, there is nothing wrong with a flat surface under their feet. Plenty of people have bantams on 4" wide roosts with no problem.

Just sayin',

Pat

 

[chickencoop13]

id use a 2x4 6 feet long or two 3 footers