What is most comfortable for my chickens tootsies?

[firehog]

I have for their roosts several round poles, like you find in a closet. My hens are getting older and was wondering if it is hard for them to stay on the roost with maybe arthritis in their feet. They seem to struggle sometimes to keep their balance as they go through their nightly "pecking order" ritual. Would a 2 x 4 with the flat side (3 1/2" ) up be more comfortable for them or are their feet more designed for a round pole?

 

[Kovalciks Chickens]

ehhhh tough to say. we had a bird that was close to 10years old....i know OLD. She wouldnt go roost with the other birds she would just walk in and sit on the floor and fall asleep. The birds are going to stop roosting when they physically cant anymore and its up to them. 2x4 may work but have never tried that. Almost all of my birds sleep on the ground, i dont know why but they do and they are from 4weeks old-3yrs

 

[Brindlebtch]

Yes, a flat 2 x 4 positioned so they can roost on the 4" side.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

we have 2x4 4 is flat in the winter they can cover there toes

 

[mulewagon]

I use slender tree trunks - they're considerably thicker than a closet pole, and the birds seem comfortable. They do need something pretty big to grasp. They have big feet!

 

[justtoni44]

we use 2x4's/they prefer them.

 

[tammyd57]

I've tried round poles and branches, but the chickens don't seem to like them unless they are at least 3 or 4 inches wide. So I just use 2 x 4's with the wide side up. All the chickens seem to like that. For bantams I use 2 x 2's for their smaller feet.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Same here.

Lumber from stores is rather hard on their feet with its odd shape and squared corners. . . We use large tree trunks (well, small, really) as perches here. They're strong enough to be 14 feet long and not supported by anything but the two ends, they're free, and they're very natural. The chickens love them because they contour to their grasp perfectly are are great beak-cleaning surfaces.

 

[chkn]

I think mine are really liking the 2x2's. I've used the flat side of the 2x4's but I think there's a lot of slipping trying to get up there.

 

[abhaya]

I use 3 to 4 inch branches for perches and they do ok on them.