Sleeping Perch Space

[Stephen518]

How much room is needed for large hens to comfortably sleep on their perch? I am interested in expanding from 12 hens to 50 and trying to design the new coop. Also, should all of the perches be at the same height or should they be in a stair step configuration? Thank you in advance for your comments. Also, I plan on a min. of 3 sq. ft. per bird inside the coop and 10 sq. ft. min. per bird for the outside run. I will probably be doing two large runs so I can alternate the use every few days.

 

[Time-Out]

You'll be needing 1 foot of perch space per bird.

You can design them however best fits the space in the coop. Chickens seem quite happy with either configuration.

 

[teach1rusl]

Most say 10-12 inches of roost space per LF bird. When they're settled in, they take less space than that of course. But they need space to hop up/down, turn around before settling down.

 

[reksat]

I have a ladder type roost . Each section is about 5ft in length. I have 8 RIR that are 10 months old and they all take residents on one roost and its the top one. Once in a while one will drop down to the bottom. So much for the 12" per bird huh ? Maybe once they get bigger i dont know.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

They recommend 12" per bird, not because they actually take up all that room when they're sleeping, but in order to jostle around until they find the right spot. If they all jumped on the roost and slept right there you'd need very little space, but we all know that they go through the routine of pushing, shoving, up and down, pulling, pecking . . . . you get it.