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

[JaeG]

We have thick, natural branches in our coop.

 

[Old Dixie Pines]

My husband used branches from our large Crepe Myrtle trees for our roosts - the wood is very solid and the chickens seem to do quite well on them. We figured that's where wild jungle fowl sleep - in trees - so we decided to give it a try (and it was free). We really like the way it looks, too. He also made the coop ladder out of the branches.

 

[JaeG]

I found this very in-depth write up on aspects of animal welfare with respect to perches in commercial egg laying facilities. It is very long but here are the conclusions that relate to this thread:

 There is no consistent evidence from the literature on perch shape preference (e.g. round, oval, square, rectangular, mushroom) of laying hens. However, the experts’ opinion was that perches with rounded edges were preferable.

 There is no consistent evidence from the literature of a preference for perch width within the range of 1.5 to 10.5 cm. However, the experts’ opinion was that a perch width of 6 cm is better for bird welfare than a perch width of 3 cm (less good) or 1.5 cm (poor).

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4131

 

[Bear1978]

In the coop I use two 2x4’s with the wide side up plus a 1x4, wise side up (that’s the one they prefer bcs it’s higher).

In the run I have a 1x4, wide side up and a couple of thick round branches.

They use them all at some time throughout the day but at night they are partial to the 1x4 in the coop to roost and sleep on.

 

[RoosterML]

Excellent avatar !!!

 

[Janiceihg]

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/

Rectangle. Was told chickens don't really grip like other birds and in cold weather can cover their feet better on a flat roost

 

[centrarchid]

Why many disregard the science directly related? Wearing blinders?

 

[Ladies of the Forest]

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.

 

[Ljhenson]

The roosts I put in are 2x4 - flat side up. However, there is a dividing wall running through the coop, since it's a converted dog kennel, and it's a 2x4 with the narrow side up. About half of my chickens roost there, leaving the flat ones empty.

 

[aembry1]

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