Roost for Chicks....

[AUChick9202]

Great question! I was wondering the same thing this evening when I was cleaning up after my 1-2 week old chicks and one climbed up and started roosting on my forearm!

CowgirlMama...love that roost design! I'll have to see if I can make one like that for my girls!

 

[F106A]

Mine have been in this brooder I made for two weeks now. They were one week old when the first picture was taken, and pretty much stuck to the branch. (I pulled it away from the back wall a bit right after I took this photo.) The short roosts are made out of scrap 2x2s and a 1x4s with a 3/4" dowel, and are at 8" high. The dowels on the frame are at 16", and the upper deck is at 24". My BRs, and WRs will now hop/flap up to the upper deck, but the highest I've seen my Orps is the 8" level. (The three of them are a bit on the chubby side!) I just snuck a peek in the garage, and two are asleep on the 8" (one BR & one Orp), and two are asleep on the 16" (one BR & one WR) on the cold side. One BR is asleep on the branch, and the rest are on the floor. It's still a bit warm in there; about 80, but should cool off quick.

Mark

 

[HoldensLandingChickGirl]

I put the roost in over the weekend (chicks were 6 days old). One started using it the first day and by this morning, several of them are roosting. It is a few inches off the ground; they can all walk under it easily (though some keep jumping over it, which is really funny). I just used a branch from outside, and our brooder boxes have handles/holes in the sides so I just slid the branch through those.

 

[florida lee]

I have 6 chicks now about 10 days old and 2 that are 5 days old.... put in a roost when the older chicks were 1 week old. 1 or 2 started using it right away. Yesterday they were lined up on it (including the younger ones). the roost is a piece of 1" round dowel secured to a piece of 2x4 at each end. So its only about 3" above the floor and was just a piece of left over scrap so it is only abut 12" long. They also like sitting on top of the water jar, taking turns. From the top of the water jar they stretch up as high as they can trying to see over the box (brooder) top. Soon they will be flying out. They can already fly 1/2 way to the top of the brooder.