Roost size, shape, style?

[Acre4Me]

If you have any large breeds of chickens, my experience says to NOT use the wide size of the 2x4. Round dowel, round/thick branch, narrow side of 2x4 all are fine.

Here is my thread on the very bad (still not completely healed) breast blister on my nearly 11 pound (11 month old) Black Jersey Giant. The breast blister was caused by the size/shape/weight of the BJG rubbing on the wide roosts. The thread details it all, with pics. Later, we had a conversation with the very experienced owner of the hatchery where we got the BJG. He said, without a doubt the wide roost caused the breast blister.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ed-thing-on-roos-chest.1292202/#post-20988160

If you have regular size to bantam sized breeds - I don't think roost width will be very impactful - certainly it is unlikely to cause major problems. My recommendation of a round or narrower roost is for the very large breeds of chicken. My BJG appears to be a good representation of the breed, and standards say a full grown BJG rooster will be a minimum of 13 pounds. At 11 months he was nearly 11lbs and they grow for about 18 months, so I'll guess he will make the weight by 18 months. We turned all but the bottom roost to the narrow side of the 2x4. His breast blister is healing, partly helped by not having any friction on his keel bone.

 

[Nlchicken]

If you look closely you can probably tell how I feel about chickens sleeping with their feet flat.

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There has been a lot of debate on here about what type of roost the chickens prefer. People can have some strong opinions on that. I did some informal testing several years back, using these tree limbs, 2x4's flat, and 2x4's on edge. My conclusions were that people care about this much more than the chickens do.

Another member of the forum did a much more formal test using several different materials and shapes. His conclusion was that they pay more attention to location in the coop than roost shape, but they tend to avoid really small roosts. The 1-1/2" thickness of a 2x4 was plenty thick enough.

In my opinion you can use various thickness tree limbs, 1-1/2" diameter dowels would probably be thick enough but I would not go any smaller, you can use a 2x4 flat or on edge. I suggest if you use a sawed board you sandpaper the edges to round them off some. That's not so much to make it more comfortable for the chickens to grip but to get rid of splinters.

I also use branches 1.5 to 2 inches wide. Which ever type of roost your chickens prefer if you are in a cold winter climate the roost should be wide enough so that when the chicken settles in their body covers their foot to prevent frost bite.

 

[Beccazon]

So then, what I am now planning to do after the responses is to give them options and based on those options and any issues that may develop, I'l remove any unused roost option. It seems that regardless of each person's experience or preference, that giving them height from the floor of the coop is more important to the bird, ultimately, than actual surface. Thank you all!!

 

[Criticalicious]

The problem I have with dowels is that depending on how you install them, they can roll under the chickens' feet. Also 2x4's or 1x3's are generally cheaper

 

[Ghosty]

I used 2 x 4's on edge and flat. I think I prefer small hickory trees, now. They stay cleaner than a flat 2 x 4, are rounded while having good surface area , readily available on the property, and I like the look. Notice how dirty the 2 x 4 is by comparison, and only the guinea usually roosts on it.

 

[IamRainey]

Whatever it's gonna be, seems to me you want it to be large enough that the chickens can sleep without devoting energy to staying balanced.

 

[Ghosty]

So then, what I am now planning to do after the responses is to give them options and based on those options and any issues that may develop, I'l remove any unused roost option. It seems that regardless of each person's experience or preference, that giving them height from the floor of the coop is more important to the bird, ultimately, than actual surface. Thank you all!!

No matter what options you give them, they will prefer the taller roost. They would all need to be the same height to even begin to test any preferences. Even then, they may just follow the lead bird's preference.

 

[kimberley848]

My husband used stair railing beams for all of our roosts. They're a bit pricey, but have worked great. They're basically 2x4's with the slightly curved top.

 

[Gray Farms]

Your likely to find 100 that say round and 100 that say square.

 

[Kessel23]

The round people must be sleeping