[andy46]

I have put the girls a new perch in thier shelter its about an inch and half wide and i have rounded the ends of but they dont seem to care much for it.Do you think its to wide for them to perch on,was thinking about changing it for a broom handle what do you all think ?

[ANHBUC]

I think it depends on the breed size as there is quite a lot of difference even in bantams.  I have used some silver birch branches for some of mine and they are thicker one end than the other so they can perch where they want.  Having said that some of my bantams like perching in the rafters or on the cross beams which are about 45mm.   

[Sassy]

A broom handle is too round and too small. You have the right idea but depending on the breed an inch and a half may be too wide. Square with rounded off edges (which is what I think you meant) is otherwise correct.

[8doubles]

A 50- 75mm square perch with the corners taken off is favourite, small round perches can mean that the toes go right underneath and can be damaged in really cold weather.
With the wider perch the toes stay on top and are kept warm by the hens feathers.

[andy46]

Thanks for advice will chop it down abit and see what happens

[nerdle]

Lucky hens

[ehs284]

Ours seem quite choosy, but bird size isn't the factor as the tiny bantams prefer a 75mm wide perch whilst the huge Cochin prefers 50mm. To get over this we've used 75x50mm CLS timber (cheap from B&Q and already rounded) laid to give the top as 75mm and then for a part of the length screwed another piece on top with the 50mm surface as the top. They sort themselves out and seem happy.