Roost bar?

[Devorah]

For large birds DO NOT use flat side up.

Additionally, it is an incorrect statement that birds will only be able to completely cover their feet on a flat board. Birds can cover their feet just fine on a round branch or similar item, or on the narrow side of a 2x4.

Back to the reason NOT to use flat side for large birds. It can cause problems for them, and I’ve had personal experience with this. As a new chicken owner I put my roost boards flat side up. I purchased a variety of birds, including Black Jersey Giants from a breeder. BJG are the largest chicken breed, and according to the breed standards, only 5 breeds indicate a minimum standard weight for a rooster of 10lbs or more, with BJG standard at 13lbs or more for a rooster (over 1 year of age). Given their large frame and weight, their keel bone rested on the flat side of the roost, this caused friction, and rubbing and my large male (under 1 year, and not fully grown yet) developed a large breast blister that took months to fully heal, in addition to much attention from us. I spoke with the breeder and explained the breast blister, but had not mentioned the roosts (although I had already figured out that the roosts caused the problem). Before I finished the description of the breast blister, the breeder told me that a roost that is too wide will cause this type of issue. We changed all of our roosts to narrow side up, and no problems or Brest blisters since.

You can get away with a wide roost with a smaller bird, as they do not have the size or weight to easily develop a breast blister. But, the wide roosts do not serve any function other than perceived preference.

As I just responded to @Huntmaster, I am renovating a barn coop that came with lovely roost branches. We live in cold New England. Don’t have the chicks yet, but soon will have australorp, barred rock, speckled Sussex and americauna. What roost width is appropriate for these breeds in our location? Thanks!

 

[3KillerBs]

So thick branches would be less desirable? I am renovating a barn coop that came with lovely roost branches. I haven’t measured the width but my mind’s eye tells me they don’t fit the specification you have described. We live in New England in a cold zone.

Human beings care a lot more about the roosts than the chickens do.

I use branches/saplings because those are free in my yard from weed trees anyway while milled lumber costs money. I offer nothing smaller than my wrist and give them a choice of diameter due to natural variations along the trunk/branch.

Chickens have been successfully kept on hundreds of different kinds of roosts installed in hundreds of different kinds of ways. The one main thing is to not have any sharp corners.

 

[Devorah]

Human beings care a lot more about the roosts than the chickens do.

I use branches/saplings because those are free in my yard from weed trees anyway while milled lumber costs money. I offer nothing smaller than my wrist and give them a choice of diameter due to natural variations along the trunk/branch.

Chickens have been successfully kept on hundreds of different kinds of roosts installed in hundreds of different kinds of ways. The one main thing is to not have any sharp corners.

Sounds good to me. Perhaps I should stop overthinking everything!

 

[MountainWoman73]

What is the best board for roosting bars? 2x4 wide side up? 2x2?

I use natural tree branches. When they get too gross and poop encrusted I unscrew them and replace them. The girls seem to like them

 

[Acre4Me]

As I just responded to @Huntmaster, I am renovating a barn coop that came with lovely roost branches. We live in cold New England. Don’t have the chicks yet, but soon will have australorp, barred rock, speckled Sussex and americauna. What roost width is appropriate for these breeds in our location? Thanks!

You can use a lot of different things as noted by others. My advice is simply to NOT use the wide side of a 2x4- it is too wide for a really large bird. But, none of your breeds are that large.

 

[3KillerBs]

When they get too gross and poop encrusted

I don't know why, but except when I have chicks exploring the perches I have never seen poop on one of my branches.

See how they hang their tails down below the roost?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Sounds good to me. Perhaps I should stop overthinking everything!

If you really want to over analyze it, give these 2 links a read, and decide what works for you based on the findings.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-size-roosts-and-chickens-preference.1479341/

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

(Me, I use branches, they're free.)

 

[bruceha2000]

Sounds good to me. Perhaps I should stop overthinking everything!

Are these your first chickens? If so, of COURSE you will overthink everything.
You want to be a good chicken keeper.

You can use a lot of different things as noted by others. My advice is simply to NOT use the wide side of a 2x4- it is too wide for a really large bird. But, none of your breeds are that large.

I disagree. Chickens are not perching birds, they don't grasp the roost, they sit on their feet and keel bones. The 3.5" wide side of a 2x4 is more comfortable for bigger chickens than a more narrow board would be.

I've had birds roost on everything from 1/2" plywood (younger ones when bullied off the roost by older hens) to their 2x4 on the flat and 4" round poles to the top of the broody buster cage which is 18"x36" with a top made of 1/2" hardware cloth. They will also attempt to roost on the top of the people door - 1" thick but I move them into the coop onto a proper roost when I close up at night. Why the door? It is higher than the roosts. Chickens generally prefer to roost as high as they can get.

 

[Devorah]

You can use a lot of different things as noted by others. My advice is simply to NOT use the wide side of a 2x4- it is too wide for a really large bird. But, none of your breeds are that large.

Thank you!

 

[Acre4Me]

Are these your first chickens? If so, of COURSE you will overthink everything.
You want to be a good chicken keeper.


I disagree. Chickens are not perching birds, they don't grasp the roost, they sit on their feet and keel bones. The 3.5" wide side of a 2x4 is more comfortable for bigger chickens than a more narrow board would be.

I've had birds roost on everything from 1/2" plywood (younger ones when bullied off the roost by older hens) to their 2x4 on the flat and 4" round poles to the top of the broody buster cage which is 18"x36" with a top made of 1/2" hardware cloth. They will also attempt to roost on the top of the people door - 1" thick but I move them into the coop onto a proper roost when I close up at night. Why the door? It is higher than the roosts. Chickens generally prefer to roost as high as they can get.

NOPE. Personal experience here, and validated by the breeder of the Black Jersey giants we have raised. You are forgetting their keel bones. On a wide roost, a big bird has a keel bone that will rest on the roost, causing friction, causing breast blister, or possibly worse. Our 11 month old BJG has to be attended to by us several times, and took several months to fully heal. Never an issue since we turned the roosts to the narrow side.