Ramp made out of wire fencing material

[Mosaicgal]

thank you! So you are saying the roost that we would get by taking off the wire mesh is too narrow? We should bulk it up? Also, how narrow would you suggest we make that shelf, so that the chickens on the roost will not be in the way of chickens on the shelf in front of the nesting boxes? Ours chcks are so little right now, it is hard to imagine big birds using this space!. thanks again!

 

[David61]

I would have to watch them use it and see what they need as I can't really visualize your set up. You have an industrial commercial type set up. I'm sure others here know about that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That brings us to the wire shelf that is right in front of the nesting boxes. It is 16 1/2 " wide.

Why do you want that wire shelf in front of the nests? What purpose does the wire serve? Why do you want wire there at all?

Many people put perches in front of the nests to help the chickens access the nests. Some of us don't, even with nests a few feet above the coop floor, but many do. Mine fly up and land on the lip of the nests. These perches are not meant to be roosts, just steps into the nests. There is no set design for them, either what material to use or how to position them. They are usually not intended to be roosts since where they are positioned can lead to the chickens sleeping in the nests. Roosts need to be higher.

I'll include a link to a study of which shapes and sizes chickens prefer for roosts. The general conclusion is that as long as it is not really small them chickens don't care. It looks like you have a 2x4 on edge as the outer part of that shelf. If you follow this link you'll see that a 2x4 on edge works fine.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-perch-experiment.74272/

 

[speedy2020]

I just buy 3-4 fence boards and cut 1 of board and nail few pieces cross. The chickens don't really care.