Roost design

[Liz Birdlover]

Did someone say Fluffy Butt?!?!?! My absolute favorite is a fluffy butt! I can stare all day only imagining what that fluff feels like. My gals are on a Look but Dont Touch vibe. My first flock; i knew i shoulda handled them more! I was too scared I would hurt someone! You BYC pros should have told me to go hold those babies and remove the 'do not disturb' sign from the living room wall.

I've adopted older chickens that were not treated right or ignored. At 1st they ran from everyone, including me. Some were obviously traumatized, poor sweeties. It only took about 2 months for them to start running towards me with friendliness & about 3 months to start jumping up in my lap for pets, if I sat down & called to them. After years of wanting nothing to do with humans, they now love to hang out, garden with me & run to me, instead of from me. All I did was was talk to them, & often ( but not always) bring them something, like mealworms, squash, watermelon, or hang up a cabbage, talking to them as I did so. Every morning I scoop poop under night perches. They soon recognized my voice & realized, I'm the human that really likes them! Once they see another chicken pecking little treats gently from my hand, or snuggle on my lap, they all become curious enough to try it themselves. They really enjoy working in the garden with me, they cluck with excitement as soon as they see me carrying the shovel, kneeling pad & garden gloves...my little avian rototillers get busy right alongside of me, making me laugh as they gobble grubs & crickets. Give it time, be consistent, they will come around.

 

[kmk]

Forgive me for the constant questions on things but I am trying to get everything ready for my first batch of chickens in the spring....my coop is a renovated farm shed/barn that I have busted my rear trying to get ready. LOL Anyway I am almost to the finish line...my auto door arrives this week and I will start on the interior with the bedding and such. I have been looking for roost ideas and have gotten some from here but I ran across this when digging around...is there any pros or cons to this design? It would actually work fantastic for my setup being that it is a rectangular shape but I thought there had to be higher bars for the bosses to get on? Thanks in advance!!

We have two wooden boards about 4' long, appx. 3" in width. One is about 18" higher than the other. Plenty of room for eight hens and there's never been poop on them.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

We have two wooden boards about 4' long, appx. 3" in width. One is about 18" higher than the other. Plenty of room for eight hens and there's never been poop on them.

Do they take a bath before bed? How come no one climbs up on the roost with mucky feet?

 

[luckycluk]

That's a good amount of space per bird. Can we get some pics of your coop? I think it's great that you're covering all the bases before you get your flock, just want to check out your ventilation because this has me curious.

I also prefer an L or U shape for easy access to my flock

I like the idea of a L or U design . I may see if my hubby can redesign my roosts

 

[msonstrom]

I have a small flock that has been, and will be, added to. So I used 2x3s and have 2 levels. I planned my layout for where all the droppings will fall and my only regret is that our hen house is small with perches close to the walls. This allows them to poop down the side of the walls. My best advice is to plan for the poop!

Thank you for this advice! Currently planning my coop! Solid advice!

 

[Vicker]

Flat boards are more comfortable to the chickens. I've staggered roost heights before but now have them side by side. Funny, they always fight over the spot next to the wall. And no matter how much space I provide, they cluster up together. I wasn't a fan of the poop board. I like the low maintenance deep litter method better.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I've adopted older chickens that were not treated right or ignored. At 1st they ran from everyone, including me. Some were obviously traumatized, poor sweeties. It only took about 2 months for them to start running towards me with friendliness & about 3 months to start jumping up in my lap for pets, if I sat down & called to them. After years of wanting nothing to do with humans, they now love to hang out, garden with me & run to me, instead of from me. All I did was was talk to them, & often ( but not always) bring them something, like mealworms, squash, watermelon, or hang up a cabbage, talking to them as I did so. Every morning I scoop poop under night perches. They soon recognized my voice & realized, I'm the human that really likes them! Once they see another chicken pecking little treats gently from my hand, or snuggle on my lap, they all become curious enough to try it themselves. They really enjoy working in the garden with me, they cluck with excitement as soon as they see me carrying the shovel, kneeling pad & garden gloves...my little avian rototillers get busy right alongside of me, making me laugh as they gobble grubs & crickets. Give it time, be consistent, they will come around. View attachment 3373393View attachment 3373401View attachment 3373402

I LOVE THIS! i spend so much time with them and we all get along really well. They run to me when i show a treat, and they run to the run door when I arrive. Its all just clucky,,,,until I try to pick one up! They run and hide behind another chicken. It turns into a game of me 'pretending' to catch them with a sing song of my voice. i love the pics you share! Such precious feathered friends. Yours are so beautiful. I adore my chickens. We are finishing our first molts ever and these girls are lookin' so full and fresh! Pecking order disturbances during the molt season for sure, but overall, everyone is behaving themselves.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I LOVE THIS! i spend so much time with them and we all get along really well. They run to me when i show a treat, and they run to the run door when I arrive. Its all just clucky,,,,until I try to pick one up! They run and hide behind another chicken. It turns into a game of me 'pretending' to catch them with a sing song of my voice. i love the pics you share! Such precious feathered friends. Yours are so beautiful. I adore my chickens. We are finishing our first molts ever and these girls are lookin' so full and fresh! Pecking order disturbances during the molt season for sure, but overall, everyone is behaving themselves.

I love when i see them, and at first they are so chatty. They tell me everything and than some!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I like the idea of a L or U design . I may see if my hubby can redesign my roosts

I love this set up.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

This could be the case since she is kind of the outcast right now sadly. We got two pullets at the same time one a ordinary EE and her a GLW and she seems to be picked on more than the EE. The weird thing is that if she is on the bar she doesn't mind the other birds and they leave her alone. if she was to get on the other bar the other chickens backs would be to her and would leave her alone.

Dont ya love when you catch yourself making recommedations to the hens. And they never listen.