Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Blarney on June 27, 2010, 10:37
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We are about to move our four hens into a new, home-built, coup. Please can someone advise me on the best perches for them/
So, round or square? Square with rounded off edges or round round? I hope you know what I mean! :lol:
The diameter of the perch?
Height from floor?
Space between.
Thank you
:) :) :) :) :) :)
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From what i have been told the perches need to be 1inches thick with rounded of edges.
but i am not sure about height only that they need to be higher than the nesting box. Don't know about space but i am sure someone will help you soon.
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I have a homemade coop and struggled to get the perches right. The hens spent many weeks on the floor rather than perching despite my best efforts to teach them. In the end I have ended up with a rounded fence pole, which I put onto two house bricks and they love it. They have also got one outside balanced on some other reclaimed wood so that they can look out across the allotments.
Hope this helps
Paula
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Perches are supposed to be 2"x2", square with rounded off upper edges. Some people say 12 inches of perch space per bird, but I was told years ago about 9 inches as they coochy up together so much. Perches should be higher than the nest boxes. 1 inch is too thin, their toes shouldn't meet underneath!
Saying that, my perches are the same height as the nest boxes! People use old branches too.
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My perches, in pre-fab coop are lower than the nest boxes. really only 3 inces off the ground. Is that really bad? Could be why at least 1 of them is sleeping in the nest boxes??? Not sure carpentry skills are up to rigging somehting up, do I need to?
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I use old banister rail about 18in high and 4ft wide, my 6 exbatts always end up snuggled up together on same one
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Lots of old posts on this; a search will bring up some good stuff. For my two pen'orth I'd also think how your going to clean and how to avoid lots of crevices for mites to hide. For poo picking it is useful to slope the floor under the perches and a raised floor can stop birds going under the perches to sleep (oh yes they do!). Don't expect them to behave properly, there's always one who will sleep lengthways and one who will be grumpy and puff herself up to the size of an elephant once on the perch. They seem to manage OK!
Caro, is there room to just block the perches up, using say bricks or wooden blocks? Then you could see if it makes any difference.