Success with metal shelving as roosts? Updated PIC added :)

[Nicole01]

Anyone successfully use metal shelving as roosts? We temporarily added one 5ft metal shelf along the back wall with a ramp leading up. I have a frizzle that can not fly. The shelves are currently 14 inches thick and have nice sized slots for the poop to fall through. The chicks loved it, so I'm thinking this may be their permanent roost. We are going to switch out the 14in width and install 20in width near the bottom and place the 14in width to the adjacent wall higher up. The only problem is I don't want the chicks to leave the frizzle stranded at the bottom. I could add another ramp leading to the top I guess. We will hang a nice heat lamp during the winter, so it won't be too cold. I have a d'uccle that is not winter hardy. Here's a picture of what we did. Our coop is not fully finished, we are finishing in the fall when we have time. I do not have poop boards, so I threw DE on the floor.

 

[CupOJoe42]

Our friends use metal shelving for roosts. There are increasingly shorter things nearby so the chickens wait their turn to hop down in the morning... it's pretty funny. The shelves can get pretty nasty if they are not covered.

 

[loadsofeggs]

In MN I would worry about the winters and the cold metal even with a heat lamp but maybe thats just me.

 

[Wynette]

I'd think metal shelving would not only be slick to walk on, but cold in winter.

 

[Nicole01]

Maybe I will have the metal shelves higher up and wood at the bottom. They are not slippery. It's the exact same metal as a wire dog kennel. Same space in-between. They are use to it, as they were sleeping on top of the wire dog kennel. The coop is 100% insulated and the heat lamp will heat it nicely. We have the coop inside our garage.

 

[Nicole01]

We will come up with something else using wood. I do worry about frostbite on their feet. I just talked to hubby and we will throw away the shelving altogether.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Toothless Willie]

Just a thought,

Why not just place 1X4 or 4" plywood strips on top of the wire toward the front? Looks like it is a foot sore waiting to happen. Also in winter their feet will freeze. Drill a couple holes in each end of the wood and zip-tie it in place. If you mont it toward the front you will find less poop on the rear wall.

 

[Nicole01]

Quote:
I thought about that, but if I put wood to cover the metal, they would be sitting in their poop at night. I prefer the poop to drop down on a plastic tray. If I cover only partial of the wire shelf, they will do everything they can to sit on the wire. I had to take the boards off the dog kennel where they were sleeping prior. They were all scrunched together on top of the wire. I'm not quite sure why they like the wire so well.

We were now thinking of a bar secured from each end of the wall. I'd like 2 roosts in there at different heights. I might use the brackets for the roost on the adjacent wall.