PVC roosts

[Folly's place]

I think that 1.5" dowels are too small and slick, and would use larger and rougher wood for roosts, even for bantams. Mary

 

[01Tech]

This is a pvc pipe that is a lamp stand. There are at least 7 roosting.

 

[chickendadva]

Has anyone tried PVC pipe as roosts or is it "too slick"? I need a couple of semi-circle roosts for a new chicken tractor. Pictures and details to follow.

The roost I have in the run is all PVC. I made a chicken tree out of 1 inch charlotte pipe. They love it and during the day its also good excercise for them. As they will fly up to roost and then hop down to forage and then hop up again all day. For inside the coop where they will sleep on it, I used the same pipe and fittings but used 1.375-inch white oak dowel rods on the horizontal roosting spots. White oak is more expensive than red oak or pine but its remarkably rot resistant and not likely to attract parasites. Its not going to fall apart from being pee'd and pooped on. I took a hand planner and shaved down the upward face so there is probabbly a 1/2 inch wide flat area on the top of each dowel. My coop cam shows them resting well on it. The size of the chicken may also impact how stable they are. Mine are a mix of Cin Queen, Calicco Princess and Black Sex Link. All less than 8 lbs fully grown. A larger chicken like a Baramah might have more trouble with it.