What shape of roosts do you use in your chicken coop?

[aart]

I actually repurposed some old tobacco sticks to use as my roosts.

What do tobacco sticks look like and/or measure out?

 

[aembry1]

What do tobacco sticks look like and/or measure out?

They are all different. Mine are a little over 4 feet long and about 1.5 inches wide. Below is a picture of tobacco sticks

 

[WallyG74]

I use trees that I cut down in the woods about 4” diameter. As someone else said, rectangle branches are quite rare so I went with round roosts.

 

[centrarchid]

I’m so happy to be educated about this! Thank you, so much! We had a local contractor build our coop and he put in a roost with round dowels (I didn’t know any better!) Consequently, last winter two guineas really got badly injured feet, and I had to have one put down ☹ All this talk about them being able to cover their feet with their feathers makes perfect sense-what a down blankets made from?! I cannot thank you enough. My husband has already agreed to putting in a new roost that he’ll build for my birds. I’ll tell my friend, who also had the same problem with her guineas’ feet. I love BYC! You are all so giving with your knowledge.

You are going to repeat the same mistake because you do not know what it was.

 

[Kellow1]

The roosting bar in the coop is round, and the short roosting bars in the run are rectangular, flat side up. I am not sure which one they prefer, as they have no choice!
[/QUOT
Chickens don't cling to the roost bar like birds do so they should have flat, wide bars so that they can sit on their feet.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

I used interlock flat four inch wide floor or ceiling wood (scrapped) seconds 4”wise about 1” thick. They have a beveled sort of edge for that interlocking part to work and the chickens sort of like it to roll their toes on so far. I’m keeping a watch on their feet but I think they like to grip that part and they lay down good up on the roost pretty comfortably with me putting two up just a few inches apart. They can spread out in the summer or get closer in the winter without being too far apart and still feel safe. My nine girls still love one another so much at just 12 weeks of age. I still find them in one big clump in the run sometimes in the evenings if the temp gets below 80 but that’s rare in MS right now.

 

[Double Yolked]

Mine are just sanded 2x4s. I finished them in the shop with a belt sander to make sure there were no splinters or anything that could harbor mites or damage feet.
I place them wide side up after noticing that my hens settle down on their breastbones to roost at night. The wider side up gives them more room and more comfort. I tested a narrower roost and a rounder roost vs the wide one and confirmed to my own satisfaction they preferred the wider one.

 

[MGChickenRanch]

Just a fun poll. And please post below why you use your type and what you chickens tend to prefer!

Please also check out this poll: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/are-your-roosts-equal-heights.1403369/

I have several 2x4's at various heights but they just use them as a ladder to get to a wooden 3 foot square platform that is 4 feet off the ground. All but two of my eight large chickens sleep together on the platform. The other two sleep on a 4 inch fixture just below the peak of the roof. They really love the platform for sleeping but at first it was pretty inconvenient for me because I had to clean it off everyday. Fortunately I was able to simplify this by attaching a pee pad that I just have to change once a day and the platform stays very clean.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

I use a sanded 2 by 4 with the skinny side up for my big girls’ run, a sanded 2 by 2 for their coop, and a dowel for my little girls.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Ours are square, not sure on the measurements exactly. I seem to remember there was some logic to it at the time, although I would probably choose to have them skinnier and perhaps more ‘natural’ in future - chickens grip just fine in my experience.

I think placement and height is important. We have wooden ramps leading up to our perches so that they don’t have to jump up or down (have never had a case of bumblefoot in our family history of chicken keeping... plenty of other issues but not that at least!).