Unsecure chicken perches

[Burtie14]

Hello everyone!

 

What do you guys use for your chickens to perch on? We have a WIR, and within that an a-frame ark. The girls love perching on top of this in the aftenoon and wiping their beaks on it before bedtime. However, they also poo on it a hell of a lot and I'd like to find an alternative so that it doesn't get ruined.

 

Someone suggested that it's better to have perches at different heights for each bird - any validity in this? Helps them to establish their pecking order, apparently (although I'd say this is pretty well established!)

 

Would something like a ladder, propped up diagonally, give them each a nice individual perch of their own?

 

We have tried a few big branches but they don't seem particularly interested - perhaps because they're not high enough off the ground. Any suggestions or photos welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

Burtie

[meezers]

I have several branches and 2 wooden chairs plus a platform in my WIR. I assume your run is made of weld mesh and is head height ? if so, I found the best way to fix perches is to cut branches approx 1 and half inches diameter to the width of your run, then wind wire around each end of the branch, and thread this wire through the weld mesh, weaving through the holes. Doing it this way means you can have branches at whatever height you want , they are firmly fixed but still easily moved if needs be.

My hens love the high perches - one is about 4 and half foot up, but make good use of them all.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I've gone a bit overboard with perches and other stuff in my WIR . They do seem to love it all though and sleep on them rather than use the eglu (which is now just an expensive nestbox - or would be if they'd lay any eggs ).

 

I mostly used branches but also Ikea shoe racks, a skirting board thingy from B&Q, a cube ladder and a unidentified piece of wood from a skip . I used cable ties and shelf brackets to fix them.

 

[Roobaloo]

I've been looking at different things to use but I'm clearly not creative enough!!

 

I've gone a bit overboard with perches and other stuff in my WIR . They do seem to love it all though and sleep on them rather than use the eglu (which is now just an expensive nestbox - or would be if they'd lay any eggs ).

 

I mostly used branches but also Ikea shoe racks, a skirting board thingy from B&Q, a cube ladder and a unidentified piece of wood from a skip . I used cable ties and shelf brackets to fix them.

 

 

Well that saved me a PM!! I was looking at your WIR pics and wondering what you used/where from and was planning to ask you!!

 

Thanks!!

[scarlettohara]

I made this yesterday

 

 

Various sizes of chicken have tested it and it didn't collapse and no-one fell off

 

And the perfect eglu sized table is a folding picnic table from Arogs - £7

[Ain't Nobody Here]

IWell that saved me a PM!! I was looking at your WIR pics and wondering what you used/where from and was planning to ask you!!

 

The rungs of the "ladder" (a handily 'Y' shaped branch!) are the uprights of the shoe racks and the thing at the top right of the "ladder" is the old wooden roosting bars from the eglu.

 

The rungs of the other ladder behind the plant pot are also shoe rack uprights nailed to a bit of a pallet. There's also a broom handle in there somewhere .

[Burtie14]

I've gone a bit overboard with perches and other stuff in my WIR . They do seem to love it all though and sleep on them rather than use the eglu (which is now just an expensive nestbox - or would be if they'd lay any eggs ).

 

I mostly used branches but also Ikea shoe racks, a skirting board thingy from B&Q, a cube ladder and a unidentified piece of wood from a skip . I used cable ties and shelf brackets to fix them.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the replies. This is magnificent!

 

I spent most of yesterday afternoon building a strange sort of x-shaped contraption from a shelving unit from Argos. They've approached it with some trepidation. Surprisingly, Jim - the most nervous chicken - has made this way to the very top, and down again. Dusty seems very keen to try it, and stands on the bottom rung for ages, thinking about the best way up, before eventually deciding she's too cowardly. Betty likes being put up on the high rungs, but hasn't worked out how to get up there herself, or get down properly. Ginger has decided to ignored it.

 

I think I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and 'deconstruct' it slightly. A few branches, that sort of thing. It's far too neat at the moment.

[Plum]

I think we need to see it.

 

And for the hens nervous of heights you could make one of these

 

[docsquid]

Plum - that is fabby. I need one of those for the WIR!

[Plum]

Go on then, with your run you'll need to extend it to a lot more perches.

[Snoxy]

Another piece of artwork Plum...fantastic

 

I was of your dustbath too