Hi
The keets and chicks have outgrown the low perchs I built for them. They now have the run of the whole coop, I built a chickenwire "screen door" to block the space of the double doors when they are open so they are safe and it hooks in easily so I can get in and out for water food etc. Now I have to start on perchs and then nestboxes. Does anyone have pics of yours that work well. I am pretty handy with powertools and have just about everything
Also, they LOVE to take "shaving baths" so I was thinking of adding a low box-o-sand for a dust bath, what do you think?
Thanks in advance!
Need some good ideas on perchs
I'm not sure of the size but I'll get pictures tomorrow of the new perches DH made for our new chicks. I bought a yellow tub at big lots and fill it with dirt, the chickens do love to roll around in it.
Cathy
I used a wooden closet pole for mine. With the standard closet pole holder things, it can be easily taken out for cleaning if the need arises. It's just the right size too and can be easily cut to length.
After installing the holders and inserting the pole, I screwed in one extra screw through the pole on one end so it won't revolve in the holder.
These are standard-size birds? Chickens don't perch -- they roost -- so I use a sanded 2x4 and lay it flat for a perch. They don't wobble around trying to keep balance all night, and it allows them to warm their toes with their feathers b/c the toes aren't wrapped around a smaller roost. I'll post a pic if I get one...
Mine have perches and a flat shelf and most prefer the shelf. As Zeppy indicates chickens roost. Jane
Sheesh, sorry I said perch, I will learn my chicken lingo before posting again
??
Nobody's correcting your lingo; I was just trying to be helpful and answer your question. What I meant was that sometimes people use very *narrow* sticks or poles for the chickens to stand on and that those are hard for poultry to hold onto, as their feet are not good at wrapping around them (perching) like, say, a songbird's feet would. That's why some birds are called perching birds; they sleep "clutching" the branch. Chickens do best with their feet flat both for balance and for keeping their feet warm. That's what I meant by saying they "roost" rather than "perch:" I wasn't saying "you can't say chickens perch!" I was saying that their feet should be nearly flat when they sleep. I call their roosts "perches" half the time too, correct or no, but the only important thing is that the thing they sleep on isn't too narrow.
I use big fat branches for my roosts
I was told by oldtimers that the natural branches were better for their feet,
less foot fatigue because its not a flat same size surface
they keep a better grip with the bark and irregularities
gives them better wing carraige
Thanks for all your input. I have decided to go with a ladder style, using 2x4 with 2x2 (with rounded edges) for "steps" and bunch of different sized apple and pine branchs for all the different size feet in the house. For the Turkeys so far I have read 2x4's because of their weight. That one I will do once there house is done, since they are only a month old.
Thanks again
LOL, I call them perches also, but I do know that chickens roost. In the outside of the coop we use tree branches, the chickens love to climb on them, inside DH built roost for them to sleep on. Forgot to get pictures, I need more batteries again, LOL.