Proper design of Roost Bars

[Rodrad]

Great way to go. Thank you. Will pas info to my wife. My wife is one who alwayes wanted chickens (she grew up on the farm and they had chickens). I resisted all this years (mostly for issues related to our vacation, frequent trips, etc). Now we travel less, plus our married daughter is in the same city, in the country, just 10 miles away. She is looking forward to getting fresh eggs and she would take care of chickens when we are on vacation (or we can hire some neighbors’ kids to do that).

 

[K0k0shka]

Great way to go. Thank you. Will pas info to my wife. My wife is one who alwayes wanted chickens (she grew up on the farm and they had chickens). I resisted all this years (mostly for issues related to our vacation, frequent trips, etc). Now we travel less, plus our married daughter is in the same city, in the country, just 10 miles away. She is looking forward to getting fresh eggs and she would take care of chickens when we are on vacation (or we can hire some neighbors’ kids to do that).

Another option for vacations is to check your local pet sitting companies. Some of them take care of other animals besides the usual dogs and cats. The company we use for our cat when we go on vacation also has people who take care of chickens, so that's our vacation plan. We don't travel often, maybe once a year, but when we do it's for extended periods - several weeks - which is too much to ask of any friend or neighbor.

 

[cmom]

That’s true. But there are some studies to suggest that too wide roosts (2x4 side side up) is not the optimal size.

https://www.yourchickens.co.uk/care-and-advice/the-perfect-perch-1-2842822

That is not a study but another person's opinion citing studies they came across. I also think anyone can find a study to support their opinion. Also it depends on the birds. I have large fowl. Maybe not as good for bantams. Everyone is different with different situations. 2x4's wide side up work fine for me and my birds. They are easier for the birds to walk on to find their place. I also think it is a matter of preference.

 

[K0k0shka]

One thing I've noticed about roost placement from observing my birds is that they really benefit from having the second, lower roost, not just as a midway jumping point to get up and down, but also to make maneuvering easier. When they're all up on the top roost, but want to change positions, it's hard to do that from the top roost itself without stepping on each other or knocking each other down. But with the lower roost fairly close to the top, what they do is the chicken that wants to change places will jump to the lower roost, walk across it to the spot she wants on the top roost, and hop up from there, without knocking anybody down or fighting to get to that place. They do that a lot. It makes their bedtime arrangements peaceful, and makes it easier for them to get in position. Theoretically they could do this from the floor, too, but mine are heavy breeds that don't fly or jump well, and can't get down and back up again easily, and certainly not with the precision needed to fit themselves in a particular spot between other birds on the top roost.

 

[cmom]

Great way to go. Thank you. Will pas info to my wife. My wife is one who alwayes wanted chickens (she grew up on the farm and they had chickens). I resisted all this years (mostly for issues related to our vacation, frequent trips, etc). Now we travel less, plus our married daughter is in the same city, in the country, just 10 miles away. She is looking forward to getting fresh eggs and she would take care of chickens when we are on vacation (or we can hire some neighbors’ kids to do that).

Years ago we traveled in the summer months, for 21 years. We did have a fellow we could depend on to take care of the birds when we were gone. Sadly he passed away at the young age of 40 years old from a heart attack a little over 10 years ago. Since we haven't made any more trips. We are now in our 70's and 80's and I would rather stay home. A lot of our friends have passed and things have changed. Good luck and have fun...

 

[Acre4Me]

That is not a study but another person's opinion citing studies they came across. I also think anyone can find a study to support their opinion. Also it depends on the birds. I have large fowl. Maybe not as good for bantams. Everyone is different with different situations. 2x4's wide side up work fine for me and my birds. They are easier for the birds to walk on to find their place. I also think it is a matter of preference.

in my flock, wide roosts caused a big issue for my very large BJG male. He developed a large breast blister. His keel bone was rubbing on the wide roosts. The Breast blister took a couple weeks of daily treatments, including a few times of having the puss extracted out of it by us, and thenseveral months for it to fully go away. We switched to narrow side up roosts. No further problems.
So, yes, size of the bird matters, but I’d say that wide roosts are not good for the very large breeds of chickens.

 

[K0k0shka]

in my flock, wide roosts caused a big issue for my very large BJG male. He developed a large breast blister. His keel bone was rubbing on the wide roosts. The Breast blister took a couple weeks of daily treatments, including a few times of having the puss extracted out of it by us, and thenseveral months for it to fully go away. We switched to narrow side up roosts. No further problems.
So, yes, size of the bird matters, but I’d say that wide roosts are not good for the very large breeds of chickens.

I'm sorry to hear that! Was it a wide flat roost (lumber board) or a wide (thick) branch? Asking because one of the studies cited earlier claimed the opposite - that the wider boards offer more contact area for the keel bone, thus redistributing and reducing the pressure on the keel and the likelihood of pressure wounds or fractures to it. This is why the roost discussion is so confusing. In addition to there probably being studies to support every opinion, there's probably anecdotal evidence both for and against every type of roost as well... And there may not be a foolproof way to go about it but just try and see

 

[Rodrad]

That is not a study but another person's opinion citing studies they came across. I also think anyone can find a study to support their opinion. Also it depends on the birds. I have large fowl. Maybe not as good for bantams. Everyone is different with different situations. 2x4's wide side up work fine for me and my birds. They are easier for the birds to walk on to find their place. I also think it is a matter of preference.

i understand that chicken can have different preferences and that various perch designs are acceptable and good enough.
I found an article about a German experimental study on the perch size/shape In 2011. I copied it and publish it in one article, but don‘t know how to attach it here!

They found that chicken standing prefer the round perch (about 44 mm diameter) and sitting (due to less pressure on the kiel bone) square design of same width but with rounded corners.

At this time I am thinking of making a “hybrid” perch, with some flat area (1”) and quite a large radius (1/2”) on the edges. On a longer span I would supported it with a standard 2x4 stud. Here is the sketch:

 

[LJ33]

Well, I never referenced any research papers when I made the choice for my hens, I just used simple logic; chickens evolved to roost in trees, on branches, so ideally a branch would be the best choice. As finding a branch strong enough and straight enough for the 6 foot span as well as supporting all the chickens and their poop trays would have been impractical, I chose what I thought would be a good substitute: A 2.25 inch wide stair rail which has a gradually curved top that I roughed the top of with really coarse sandpaper. The result is pretty much what your article describes, a two inch top with rounded edges.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Creative-S...x-8-ft-Stain-Grade-Un-Plowed-Handrail/3727399

My ladies seem to like it, I certainly haven't heard any complaints from them.

I couldn't find that exact rail as they don't make it anymore, but found one very similar in shape and size. My girls love it. I found the idea from this thread. Thanks!

 

[Rodrad]

Years ago we traveled in the summer months, for 21 years. We did have a fellow we could depend on to take care of the birds when we were gone. Sadly he passed away at the young age of 40 years old from a heart attack a little over 10 years ago. Since we haven't made any more trips. We are now in our 70's and 80's and I would rather stay home. A lot of our friends have passed and things have changed. Good luck and have fun...

Thank you. I fully understand how things change as we age. My wife and I are in mid to late seventies.