Roosting Perch Good Enough?

[Crenegar]

Hi all,

New to the forum and to keeping chickens. Rebuilt an old rabbit cage into our new chicken coop. It’s not the biggest but I think I did a pretty good job.

Purchased 5, 8 week old hens that are still sleeping in a huddle. (Have had them for a week.) When they do start using their perches to roost I am hoping they will not mind how I have them setup. I have attached pics to help understand my questions better. To better utilize space I had them intersect in one spot and the other perch is a little higher but sits adjacent.

My main question. Is it ok to have your perches intersect like this and should it be enough room for 6-7 chickens total the way it’s set up like this.

As mentioned I currently have 5 but already want a couple more. The answer to the first question will pretty much answer the second. I have read they need 8-10” of space to roost and total combined perch space is 80” leaving 3” from the walls on each side. But I was just a little worried about the intersecting part. Not planning on getting any larger breeds than bantams.

Just a little more info.

Perches are 15” high & 18.5” high.

Coop size is 72in x 42in. With 37” ceiling height 21 total sq ft of floor space.

Run size is 13ft x 6ft 78 total sq ft.

Plan on letting them free range daily in the evenings. Just want them to be comfortable as possible and I know there are some pros on here that can help answer my concern.

Thanks!

 

[cavemanrich]

Nice job on coop. and run. ,, Your facility is sufficient in size for the chickens you want to keep. Banties take less space then LF chickens. I have both in same coop.
If you are concerned with them roosting,,, I think it is something not to worry about. They will eventually decide on their own. BTW,, there is no harm for them to sleep on the bottom floor. Only drawback,,,, is some of the roosting chickens will bomb the ones below with those gumdrops. Chickens poop all-night-long while on roost at night. They go to sleep with a full crop of food.
If you want to encourage your banties to roost on the roosts, there are 2 things to try.
Place them there at dusk. During the night, chickens do not see very well in the dark. They will tend to stay there until morning sunrise.
Second part,, is to make roost more favorable for chickens. Your 2x4 flat side are fine,,, but not the most comfortable for chickens. Chickens do like to grab onto where they roost. (with their claws). You can try fastening a 2 inch diameter tree branch to top of 2x4. If you notice that that roost gets more action,,, than do same to other roost.
Leave the bark on the branch, but sand off any potentially sharp spots. My coop interior roosts are tree branches.
Here is the reason birds like to grab their roost. The image explains it very well, Saves me a lot of typing making my explanation

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Windrider]

Roosts seem to be a hot topic here at BYC. While I grant that @cavemanrich has much more experience than I do, in biological terms chickens are galliformes not passerines. Passerines (song birds) have the auto-lock perching mechanism shown above, but chickens and other galliformes don't.

This is the most interesting and thorough thread on the subject here at BYC, with the chicken keeper actually crawling under her resting chickens to take pictures. It is well worth the read.

Feet Posture and Roost Preference