roosts

mamarosa

In the Brooder
11 Years
Apr 30, 2008
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My chicks are 6 weeks old and in our coop we have put 2 x 4 that are 9 ft long at levels of 24 inches, 36 inches and 48 inches. The 26 of them are only roosting at the 48 inch bar
is this normal and will they use the other levels or should we make another 48 inch roost.
thanks
mamarosa
 
As they get bigger, they won't all fit. Lower ranking members will use the lower roosts. If you have room, putting all the roosts at the same level will keep the chickens warmer in the winter. You could also put all the roosts at 24" or 36".

Another thing to think about before changing is how big the chickens will get and if they will be able to fly up to a 48" roost when they are fully grown.
 
Chickens almost always want to roost at the highest place they can get up to. So, they are going to all want to be at the same height and the highest height. Thus, I'd make your 48" roost longer so they will all be happy and can roost together.

It will be good to keep the lower level roosts as the chickens can use those as a ladder to get down from the higher roost. It can damage standard breed chicken feet to jump down that far.
 
I would vote for two of them at 3 feet, and one lower. The lower one will help them get up and down, and 2 at the same height will make sure all can roost at the three foot height for less fighting. Also the 3 foot hight will be less likely to cause problems is they fall off. If they are going to grow into really fat birds, maybe make the two high ones at only 2.5 feet.
 
thanks,
we have decided to make 2 planks side by side at about
30 inches and keep the lower plank for them to use as a step up. thanks for all your imput.
I am trying to post some pictures using photobucket and it is on the my page, I am not very good at it but it is a start
thanks again
mamarosa
 
Don't forget to put a dropping board about six inches under those two roosting boards with some shavings, straw (?) ... on it (whatever you're using on the floor). That makes cleaning out poo simple and keeps all that poo in one central location.
 

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