Perches for Chickens
It’s springtime, the babies that you got early are ready for outdoors and perching at night. Let’s talk about perch choices.
My opinion is that chicks in a brooder box do not need perches. They may start perching at about a month old, that is when I give them one. I have my juveniles in a barn pen and I use a free standing sawhorse that is about 12” tall and 25” long. The 2x4 on top is flat side up. You want a solid surface for them to land on.
Once they get out to coops outside, I still use flat side up 2x4, let’s talk about why. When I first started with chickens, we used a log from our property for them to perch on. IT had curves and bows and was interesting. It also had mites and bugs from being a tree! The bark caught toes and was rough on their feet. So I pulled the bark off, seems reasonable right? NO! The tree was slick and slippery and they fell off. Another issue I noticed was crooked keel bones. The bird had to sit cockeyed because of the curves and that caused their growing bone structure to follow the curve. This is not a desired trait!
On social media, you will hear that the birds perch in trees in the wild! Sure do! I will not negate that. HOWEVER, they choose the branch. They will likely perch close to the trunk on a wide branch, they won’t walk out to the thinnest part. When a bird perches, they are covering their feet with their hot bodies to keep them warm.
I have also seen closet rods used or dowels or other circular boards. When a bird perches, they grab onto the perch for stability, curling their toes around it. The round perches will make their toes be under it which is then exposed to the cold and now available for frostbite!
Metal is just a big no, hot in summer and too cold in winter.
Height of the perch is important too. The heavier the bird, the lower the perch. Their instinct is to go high because in the wild, this removes them from ground predators. This shouldn’t be an issue in a coop. I have mine set at 24”. Another reason for the 2-5’ range, is if I need to get them down, I can reach them. If they are up in the rafters, most people cannot reach them. Plus, the higher they go, the more force on their feet and legs upon landing.
So, don’t overthink perches, make it easy for you and them. A 2x4 flat side up is about as easy as you can get and a moveable one like a sawhorse makes cleaning a breeze. Just a last note, I use 2x8 for my turkeys at 4’ high. Ducks and quail do not perch.