Re: perches height?

From: nuele mersch (fowls_at_nuele-online.de)
Date: 02/21/05 

Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 19:30:51 +0100

bigand <bigand12345@hotmail.com> wrote:

> How high do the perches need to be?

Actually, I would rather ask how low should they be. Most hens will
gladly use a ladder to get to their perches, but it seems to be a no-no
to use it to get down again!

A heavy bird may injure the skin of its feet when jumping down,
especially if the ground of the coop is hard. A small crack in the skin
can be enough to cause an infection leading to an abscess, known as
"Bumblefoot", which is not easy to get rid of again.

The perches in my coop are about 1,2 m high so I can easily clean the
droppings board underneath, but I have flighty, slim little bantams. For
big production hybrids I would make them rather lower I think.

Oh, and I've seen people use branches from trees as perches. A perch for
chickens should have a flat, smooth surface with no sharp edges and no
cracks in which mites could hide.

Nuele (D)