Wrapping roost bars

[My Three Chicks]

2 of my girls have mild bumblefoot and weird footpad formations (apparently keratin overgrowth).
I took them to the vet today to get checked out. Beyond treating their feet and wrapping them, she recommended I cover their roost bars with astroturf. Has anyone covered/wrapped their roost bars? And what did you use? Would love your thoughts! And pics would be a bonus!

 

[Debbie292d]

Could you just lower them as it's probably more the jumping down from the roosts than it is the roosts themselves. I've just never really heard of anyone making their roosts cushy, it's more the floor, how hard they're hitting, and what they're landing on.

If you could give them a flatter roost, like a 2x4 sideways, that would help too.

 

[McChooky]

I added lower roosting bars and a crate so my hens could get on and off the roosting bars easier.It helps their feet to have deep bedding on the floor. Adding astro turf to the roosting bars gives mites and lice a place to breed and hide.It would have to be removed and cleaned regularly (where as poop can just be scraped off a board)My soil is rocky and caused many of my hens to get injuries

 

[DobieLover]

Please post pictures of your setup.
Wrapping the roosts is a very bad idea. Not only will it be impossible to keep them at least a little bit clean, it will be a very good place in which pests can harbor, as mentioned. Also, I can certainly see the chickens picking away at the astro turf thinking it's something to eat.
I have a cleated ramp propped up on a cinder block that most of my now older flock prefers to use to go up to the roosts and get back down.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Please post pictures of your setup.

What are you using for roosts? Sawn lumber, tree limbs, or something else? What are you working with?

I use round tree limbs for the main roosts but also have a 2x4 on edge for a juvenile roost. The tree limbs work fine as is but I sanded the corners on the 2x4 to remove any splinters. I'm not worried about them having trouble wrapping around the 2x4 corners with their toes, but I want the splinters removed to prevent bumblefoot.

I personally see no benefit to wrapping the roosts but what are you working with? It is often beneficial to know that.

 

[My Three Chicks]

In the coop where they sleep I use 2x4 boards. Well-sanded, wide side up, 25" off ground. But they jump down to lower roost (20" off ground) to get down. Ground is straw.

Then in their attached run they have a bunch of rounded eucalyptus wood roost (by Omlet). Highest ones are 29" off ground. Ground is covered with wood chips.

But they spend most of the time free ranging in our suburban backyard so so don't 'roost' throughout out the day.

Great point regarding mites burrowing in astroturf and it being impossible to keep clean.

I can certainly lower the round roost bars in the run. I did lower them once already. What's a good height?

 

[LaFleche]

In the coop where they sleep I use 2x4 boards. Well-sanded, wide side up, 25" off ground. But they jump down to lower roost (20" off ground) to get down. Ground is straw.
View attachment 3885506
Then in their attached run they have a bunch of rounded eucalyptus wood roost (by Omlet). Highest ones are 29" off ground. Ground is covered with wood chips.
View attachment 3885507
But they spend most of the time free ranging in our suburban backyard so so don't 'roost' throughout out the day.

Great point regarding mites burrowing in astroturf and it being impossible to keep clean.

I can certainly lower the round roost bars in the run. I did lower them once already. What's a good height?

Zooming in and looking at the bedding in your run I suspect the chopped up wood there to cause your hens' injuries when jumping down from the roosts.

 

[Debbie292d]

In the coop where they sleep I use 2x4 boards. Well-sanded, wide side up, 25" off ground. But they jump down to lower roost (20" off ground) to get down. Ground is straw.
View attachment 3885506
Then in their attached run they have a bunch of rounded eucalyptus wood roost (by Omlet). Highest ones are 29" off ground. Ground is covered with wood chips.
View attachment 3885507
But they spend most of the time free ranging in our suburban backyard so so don't 'roost' throughout out the day.

Great point regarding mites burrowing in astroturf and it being impossible to keep clean.

I can certainly lower the round roost bars in the run. I did lower them once already. What's a good height?

The coop looks great, and the roost heights in the run look fine. I'd maybe make those the 2x4 sideways as well, and think @LaFleche has a point of the bedding there probably being the cause. We have silkies who have ladders to get anywhere as they can't jump or fly well if at all, but the floor is horse bedding pellets.

 

[Sic]

In the coop where they sleep I use 2x4 boards. Well-sanded, wide side up, 25" off ground. But they jump down to lower roost (20" off ground) to get down. Ground is straw.
View attachment 3885506
Then in their attached run they have a bunch of rounded eucalyptus wood roost (by Omlet). Highest ones are 29" off ground. Ground is covered with wood chips.
View attachment 3885507
But they spend most of the time free ranging in our suburban backyard so so don't 'roost' throughout out the day.

Great point regarding mites burrowing in astroturf and it being impossible to keep clean.

I can certainly lower the round roost bars in the run. I did lower them once already. What's a good height?

Not a fan of 2x4 roosts, but to each their own. I don't think your roost bars are the problem, but those wood chips in your run likely are. Shavings are great, chips aren't, they're hard, sharp and have a tendency to move underfoot. My suggestion would be to change the ground cover in your run. If you need to wrap your roosts so your chickens feet can heal, consider using a 2 or 3mm neoprene, it's soft, smooth, cushioned enough and can be easily cleaned. Cheaper remedy might be to temporarily build a box over the length of the roost bar in the coop put some hay in it and let them sleep without a roost bar until their feet heal. Just my thoughts, fwiw none of my poultry has ever had bumblefoot and my property is covered in sharp rocks and gravel, twigs, branches, pine needles and cones. I use branches for roosts and have a rubber floor in my coop, no bedding and bare ground in my run.

 

[aart]

I've had coarse wood chippings in my run for 10+ years, never had any bumblefoot issues....nor any foot injuries that were bad enough for me to notice.