post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Bryant Redhawk]

There are true cedars and then there are members of the Juniper family that are called cedars. It is the Juniper family that causes most respiratory issues in animals (even humans). These are the "cedars" used in cedar chests and closets and should be avoided at all costs when it comes to coop building. The same volatile oils that keep moths and rodents out of your clothes and fabrics will "choke down" the lung tissues of birds.

The Western Cedars, such as the giant redwoods and sequoias are not harmful to birds.

The "Smell Test" is a good way to determine if the wood will be an issue, if it smells strongly (aromatic) then it should be relegated to protecting cloth materials and furs and not used in coop construction.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Wow, I had no idea there were different kinds of cedars! that's so interesting and.makes more sense. why do they call it cedar though if it's not?

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

That is a good question; I can only talk about the "sacred cedar" though when it comes to names. The sacred cedar is so known because it has sap wood that is white and heart wood that is very red, Native Americans named it thus since it represents a human, the white is the flesh and the red is the blood. When the Europeans came they used it for cedar chests since the wood repelled all the moth larve that would eat their clothes. The sacred cedar is aromatic, grows from the upper east coast all the way to the bottom Georgia and to the west as far as the Texas Hill Country. It is actually a Juniper (as most "cedars" are), Juniperus virginiana is the botanical name for the Eastern Red Cedar. The Eastern White Cedar is actually a Cypress variety while the Western Red Cedar is a true Cedar. To confuse this even more the White Cedar may be called Yellow Cedar or Swamp Cedar. Both the true Western Red Cedar and the Eastern White Cedar are very light weight when dried and both resist rot quite well. But the Western Red has a less volatile oil than either the Eastern White or the Eastern Red, the eastern red is also quite heavy when compared to the other two.

The easiest way to tell if you have a true cedar tree is the grain of the wood and the smell. A true cedar tree has a relatively pale odor compared to the Eastern Red (the true aromatic cedar).

 

[perchie.girl]

Wow, I had no idea there were different kinds of cedars! that's so interesting and.makes more sense. why do they call it cedar though if it's not?

The quick answer is the name Cedar applies to a whole genera of trees Kind of like how Kleenex became the name for tissues. there are at least forty trees that are refered to as Cedar. But three large family's: Pinaceae, Cupressaceae, and Meliaceae. and a grouping of stand alones....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar

I think they all have the same characteristics wheter they are Trees or Junipers... They have seed cones and are evergreen.

deb

 

[ShrekDawg]

wow thanks so much for all the info everyone! it's really interesting.

 

[lil urbanette]

Been reading a lot about the perching here. The fellas that built my coop put two 2x1" roosts out from the nesting boxes. Being a newbie, I didn't give it a thought that they all preferred to cram on top of the boxes on the 1 foot by 4 foot topper. There's always poop on the perches , yet when they go to bed at night they're all on top. So, am I causing any damage to they're feet by not providing a top perch? They seem purty dern healthy.

 

[Latestarter]

If you don't mind poop all over the top of the nest boxes, then don't worry about it. They are happy there and no harm/no foul. If you don't want them on top of the nest boxes, then you need to provide them a roosting bar HIGHER than the top of the boxes. They will almost always try to roost at the highest point they can reach.

 

[lil urbanette]

If you don't mind poop all over the top of the nest boxes, then don't worry about it. They are happy there and no harm/no foul. If you don't want them on top of the nest boxes, then you need to provide them a roosting bar HIGHER than the top of the boxes. They will almost always try to roost at the highest point they can reach.

Great thanks. It's actually pretty easy just to take a 10" scraper and scrape since I put a layer of linoleum flooring on the top. Thanks for your input.

 

[bruceha2000]

Here's something to consider....

http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Feet.html

http://www.projectbeak.org/adaptations/feet_perching.htm

If you've ever observed a chicken's feet and how their legs and joints work at all you'd find they aren't much different than wild birds. They are anisodactyl.....


and, though heavier than a typical wild bird, their legs work much in the same way to keep them on a perch. The tendons in their toes shorten when the knee bends, curling the toes. This helps them stay on a perch even when they sleep. Imagine the strain on those same tendons when the knee bends that deeply and the toes cannot curl...and the weight of their body is on top of that and they are like that all night long. Oh, they can do that position for mating, for sitting in a nest to lay an egg, etc. but to do it night after night on a flat surface is somewhat unnatural. You'll not see many songbirds sleeping on a flat surface for extended periods of time.

Because the toes cannot curl around the perch surface as they sleep, they must try to stay balanced in another way. Since the front part of a typical chicken outweighs the back portion, they must try to keep this uneven weight distributed on 4 inches of flat surface all night long, balancing upon their keels for the most part. Stress on the keel bone, stress on the flexor tendons, not enough good, restful sleep...is it any wonder people report chickens that pick at each other until they are bald? I'd be feeling the same way if I were those birds.


Add to that the the issue of "keeping their feet warm", which on a round perch positions their feet at the warmest place and into the warmest feathers on a chicken's body~right into the feathers of the brood patch~ and reduces the total area of the feet needing warmed due to the curl of the foot.... but on a flat perch positions those same feet on the surface of the abdomen and to the side of that "brood patch" area, with toes extended outward.

Here's additional information on how bird's feet stay warm in the winter months:


For the most part, frost bite on feet has very little to do with perch size and shape and much, much more to do with the right kind and enough ventilation in the winter months.

Sooooo ... The English study may show 5x weight on the keel BECAUSE the roost is flat?? Maybe the weight would be more evenly distributed if the perch were round and sized to the bird's feet????? After my last post on the subject I was looking at a piece of hand rail and wondering if that shape would actually be better than either round or flat if the bird needs to support its keel. Mine look like this and are 2 1/4 wide. Or is this the "mushroom" shape mentioned in the English study? They also mention rounded edged flat roosts being preferable but it didn't say HOW rounded.



At some point, if I ever have time, I think I will put up a bunch of round poles of increasing diameter and see if I notice a size that is "easy" for the birds to grasp. Though I think walking on a smaller diameter pole would be seriously difficult for a chicken. I don't think they would "scooch" side ways real well. Perhaps the distance between the extended toes side to side would need to be taken into consideration for this reason.

Been reading a lot about the perching here. The fellas that built my coop put two 2x1" roosts out from the nesting boxes. Being a newbie, I didn't give it a thought that they all preferred to cram on top of the boxes on the 1 foot by 4 foot topper. There's always poop on the perches , yet when they go to bed at night they're all on top. So, am I causing any damage to they're feet by not providing a top perch? They seem purty dern healthy.

I would have guessed that the "roosts" in front of the nesting boxes were access perches, not meant for roosting. They may be poopy because the birds are on the upper board with their butts hanging out over the perch. Like Latestarter said, they will perch as high as they can get.

 

[mkgmfellers]

Wow! Everyone's coops are so pretty. Here's a picture of my silkie coop. Sorry it's not the best picture.