How much Space does a Chicken Need for their Roost | How Wide should a Chicken Perch be?
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2020
- How much space does a chicken need for their roost? How wide should a chicken perch be? The question is finally answered by the chickens in their own coop. We'll go into the chicken coop at dusk and see how the chickens are settled down at night on the perches and they'll show us just how much space they need to roost between each chicken. Hopefully this gives you some ideas for chicken coop plans, designs, and dimensions.
Chicken Coop Build Videos:
(Part 1) • Building a Chicken Coo...
(Part 2) • Building a Chicken Coo...
(Part 3) • Building a Chicken Coo...
(Part 4) • Building a Chicken Coo...
(Part 5) • Buidling a Chicken Coo...
(Part 6) • Buidling a Chicken Coo...
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I like how all the hens were crammed, but Henry roosted separately overlooking them. He’s running that show. 👑
haha, he sure is
Thank you so much for getting and keeping the point in your title.
Glad it was helpful
This is an awesome answer! I've always found it silly to have a bunch of space for them to sleep because they all just want to be together.. they're warm and safe together. I remember when I first got chickens I came across so many different answers I just kind of measured a chicken and multiplied it by how many I had... And that's the size roost I put up! Thanks for helping make it easier for everyone! Love your videos!!
You're welcome, Amber! Sounds like you've got it figured out on your end too. Glad you enjoy the videos.
I love the new rooster he really stands out among the hens! I guess the prove is as shown in this video that chickens do like hanging close together!👍
They sure do, Mae!
They really like something smaller and round to perch on like a tree limb ! I love you showed this ! There is a lot of wrong information out and about! 💕
My grandson has one rooster.. his name is.."Cluck Norris."😂👍 We have Cluck's brother, his name is.."you're no Cluck Norris." Both look alot like your rooster. I know what you guys mean, they avoid all that room in there like its the plague. Such a great channel !! 🌱🐓
Thanks so much, Darla. It means a lot to see your comment. Love the chicken names!
Thank you so much for the information as this is the question i have for our coop. Yours was the best video i have seen so far. Thank you so much!
I'm so glad to be able to help you out, Sharon! Good luck with building your chicken coop.
Although they do like to huddle together, building a coop with additional roosting space allows for the inevitable chicken math which seems to be unavoidable. We started with 8, now have 9, and will be adding another 20 this fall. Needless to say I will be building a larger coop!
That’s always a good idea going bigger! I can’t imagine wanting more than 40 chickens though 😂
Hi Mike, this is a great video, simple, fun, informative, short and to the point. Congratulations. I grew up around dogs and I really love animaIs to the point that wanted to become a vet. I am getting ready to build the roosting place for our chickens. Last step to finish our chicken coop. We have two one year old, Sophia Grace (polky) and Gabriella (cuckoo maran), they are really lovely. In the rest of the flock we have silkies, we have australops, americaunas, isa browns, leghorns, and wyandottes. I never raised chickens but from the moment my wife brought home Sophia Grace and Gabriella they got my heart! I am learning a lot about them so they can get the best care possible. Thank you.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the video. Have fun finishing up your coop. Chickens can be a lot of fun.
Mike, this is great info that I’m sending to your sister, Molly. She just got 25 new chicks. I’ve sent her your other videos about coop building. We’re all very impressed!
Hey Mom! Love and miss you. Molly got chickens! That's awesome, they're a lot of fun and provide much better eggs than the store. We go through about 8 to 9 eggs a day. Plus, it gives the kids something to do. They go out and collect eggs every day.
Wow! Hi Mike's Mom! Just wanna say ( as if y'all don't already know this) that fresh laid eggs make the most perfect poached eggs! Us city dwellers rarely get the chance to experience that!
Mike, Molly has a goat, too. She’s taking after her big brother!
monkeygraborange Hi! I had freshly laid eggs when I was a kid. Now my kids live in the country and I’m stuck with store bought eggs. I need to visit them more often. 😊
@@marydrury5469 👍
Wanted to say thank you for showing this. About to make perches for my new coop as I have increased my flock. :)
No problem. Glad it helped out.
Thanks for sharing the info.!
Good information, very interesting.
Henry a fine looking rooster 👍
Yes, he is!
Hi Mike, my grandad built quite a few chicken coops and he said I don’t build them too big because they will always huddle up together for security and warmth then in the morning they will go out for a good scratch around for worms etc!. Like you he put in roosts that were easy to lift out, clean the coop out and then the muck was spread on the garden!! If it worked for him I’m pretty sure your birds will enjoy what they have in their hotel!! Graham🇬🇧🇬🇧❤️🐔🐔🐔🐣🐣
Thanks, Graham, I love hearing about how your grandad did it. Gives validation to everything I'm doing here with the chickens.
Mike Kincaid I learnt a great deal from my grandad, he had so much knowledge that he passed onto me and it was done in a fun way that it stuck in my brain forever. I wish he were still alive now. He was 101 yrs old when he passed.!!! Wonderful hard working man. Graham. You are doing great Mike!!
I have over 30 chickens myself. Only three nesting boxes, one of which I allow a hen to raise chicks in. Less mess to clean up. Nice video. Subscribed. Thanks.
Thanks for the confirmation and sub.
They're so cute super fluffy and amazing, i hope that they start to lay eggs to enjoy and love them more, you just tell Henry & he will take care of the rest lol, he seems that he's in charge of the place, anyway GOD bless you & them and everyone & everything that you care about.
Thanks, Mahmoud. I always appreciate your uplifting comments. Henry sure does take care of the ladies.
@@MikeKincaid79 Thank you man😊😊
Mine do the same! So glad u showed that. I was laughing and cheering u on!
Haha, thanks Carrie! Chickens are so quirky and a lot of fun to watch.
That was awesome man and thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m getting a chicken coop so this is great to know. Thanks Mike!!!
Cool! Chickens are a lot of fun and the best part is that the eggs are so much better than store bought.
Mike Kincaid the problem is my kids wants pigs and goats too 🤪🤷♀️🤦♀️
@@jessicagagnon7096 What's a gal to do? Sounds like eggs and bacon will be on the table.
Mike Kincaid lol
Thank you. Finally got a real answer
Haha, yes, this is a real, tried and true answer. Been raising chickens most of my life. Glad you found what you’re looking for.
A real game changer is a poop shelf under the roost rails. It makes clean up so easy and quick, keeps the pine shavings good for 6 months. Fill it with 50/50 PDZ and sand. Then get a cat litter box cleaner and do it daily, no ammonia smell and the are stays clean. Toss the poop in the compost.
Great looking coop!!!!
Thanks Robert! We love the functionality of this coop. Thanks for the tips.
man first time i am following you on the topic of chicken normally i follow lots of your gardening tips
Well thanks for watching!
Awesome!
Thanks!
Hi Mike! Thanks for the information, very interesting! I guess we make it bigger because we don't think like chickens and we want them to social distancing too. 🤣🤣
But really, joking aside, this is great to see. Thanks! Hugs🤗🤗💜
LOL, dang, sure wish I would have added that social distancing in there, haha.
😂😂
Thank you, this was brilliant. I have a large run for my chickens but was worried that 6 feet of roost (X2 3ft roosts) in the coop would not be enough for 10 chickens. Now I'm going to leave it as is and test this hypothesis myself, see how it goes :)
Yep, save yourself some time, money, and energy. They'll be just fine.
Hey what's up I've been raising chickens half my life a two-by-four either side up about 2 and 1/2 ft off the floor up to 4 feet stepped up is a nice ruse although benzies prefer to go up higher if they can find the spot
So, you’re saying get more chickens! 😃
LOL
It looks very clean. My neighbor had one that was really difficult to clean. Can you make a recommendation on designs for ease of cleaning.
We actually designed this one to be really easy for my wife to clean and manage. If you're interested in the details then just watch the series on how I built it. There are links to them in the description of this video and I go over all the details throughout them.
COOL VIDEO!!!!!!! :) :)
Glad you enjoyed it
I DID ENJOY THANK, YOU
Welcome
Hey Mike, always enjoy your video's. The coop is wonderful. One thing I'm concerned about. I noticed you entry door for the chickens was open. If your outside fence is not predator proof, one night a raccoon, weasel, fox, etc will climb over, go in and kill them all. Food for thought.
PS: Perhaps you can keep that little door closed til the fence is right. A raccoon can take out a whole coop in one night.
Still working on that one.
I have like 25 chickens and made a perch with 3 sticks which each of them is close to 5 feet long. Every night I come to see my chickens, all of them are cramed together in only two sticks. Mostly, I think they are suffering to much, but whatever you do, chickens wants to be cramed together, if it helps their bodies to warm up, especially during winter.
Haha, yep, sounds about right.
depends on the weather, on how clean the area is, the type of chicken etc etc
Very Good. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing project if your 😊Another consideration..The floor space needed per chicken would be higher for those of us in the great white north during severe cold & snow when they won't go outside the coop.
Although, a covered outdoor area with protected/solid sides from the weather helps tremendously 😉
That's a good point. I live in an area that's pretty mild so the chickens spend most of their life outdoors. I suppose the indoor space requirements would increase in colder regions.
There all crowded on those two roosts because they will always fight for the highest spot. If you put another roost at the same height they will use it and spread out.
I thought the same thing but then what is Henry doing down below, next to the nest boxes?
@@MikeKincaid79 he’s a rooster they don’t always crowd with the hens. My roosters do the same thing.
I found that if your chickens are outside of the coop all day your coop only needs to be a tiny space to roost at night. I have seen up to 8 chickens squeeze on to a 4 foot roost when they had other roosts to choose from. usually 6 birds for that much space looks normal. Bird size may be a factor.
I agree 100%. These are full sized chickens and they fit just fine. Like you said, they need to have lots of outdoor space for this to work well.
@@MikeKincaid79 For the record, for people reading, if you have a small coop and a lot of chickens you still need to provide they outdoor shelters from the elements, a couple days of heavy rain and everyone limited to being crowded in a small coop will lead to problems. I try to keep dry areas in their chicken runs or range especially an area where they can dust bathe. The Coop its self just needs to be a roosting box to keep predators out with ventilation up high for warm moist air to escape. You can even have egg laying areas, feeding stations and such outside of the coop. I always recommend keeping their water outside because the area the manure collects in needs to be as dry possible.
Love it! I've noticed that with my chicks. However, I want to have a little extra, just so I know that they're the ones doing the cramming and not me. Oh ... And there's that whole "chicken math" thing...😆
Lol, give them all the love you can
I agree, they like to be near one another.
Yes!
Your rooster makes me think of the song that goes I'm Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am. Anyway very cool video
Well, Henry married 40 widows and he's the stud in the coop these days.
Henry really is the Cock of the Walk!
Henry married 40 Widows that's one crazy rooster.
Now I will have that tune stuck in my head...thanks 🥴
@@DOLfirst I had it soon as he mentioned Henry and I was like great. I have to spread the misery to other people sorry. Hahaha 😂
The most convincing proof on YT.
I have 3 in a small space I think ur right they like to huddle
They sure do. I've watched them closely over the past few years and they really don't need or even want a lot of space.
it's 7:00 in the morning and i'm just going ta bed. a whole night of politics and news and conspiracy and I'm done. your chickens were my good nite video mike. say hello to henry for me. cp.
Haha, you better pull back from all that junk soon or you'll get lost in it forever.
It depends on the type of chickens you have, some are more aggressive than others, some dominant chickens do not like to share roost space, so you need to provide for the more submissive chickens.
Is the chicken coup heated for the winter months, Mike? And how often do you have to clean them?
It's not heated. Chickens don't need heat and they do very well in freezing weather. The cleaning depends on how many chickens you have. Right now we have over 40 chickens and my wife it cleaning it every couple weeks. If you only have 5 or 10 chickens then you could go much longer.
LOL. My chickens got a coop remodel with extra square footage and I’m still waiting for my home remodel after 26 years 😂
Tell me about it, lol
hey what's up Mike how are you I hope you're doing well you and your family I want to give you this tip about the chickens Mike if you put a blue light for the chickens in the coop it will make them relax and quiet
Thanks, Emad, I'll have to look more into this.
Labatt's Blue Light?
Awesome video, we just got 12 more to add to the seven and have 2- 8’ roosts, how far apart are your roosts?
About 14 inches
@@MikeKincaid79 Thank u!!
HENRYs a pretty good looking bird
He sure is, glad my wife found him.
Best to have your board turned the other way especially if it’s cold where you live . So they have the 4 inches to keep their feet warm
I watch the chicks, they make a pile. The chickens still do the same :) half of the roosts aren't even used.
Depends on how tight of quarters the chickens were raised in together ! five raised together in the same brooder need far less room than say 2 raised one season and 3 raised the next !
We mix them all the time. After the first couple days of finding their pecking order, they all mix in well like any other chickens from the same or different seasons.
I have a question, I recently built a new coop for my chickens and made around 4 roosting bars, but they sleep literally everywhere but the roosting bars. if I move them on the bars they just slowly walk down. Maybe it’s too thick? I made it thick so they can put their whole feet flat instead of it gripping and curling around a bar so they can be comfortable at night. Do u know what I can do?
I've always used 2x4 lumber turned so the short side is facing up. Never had a problem with my chickens roosting on it.
i beg to differ. my chickens have a pecking order, the best roosting bar is taken by the top birds, and the far flung roosting bar is occupy by the least ranked chickens. They sleep each night exactly in the same spot. but like to be very much spaced out from each other.
Differ all you want, I've got video evidence, lol.
Hi Mike, we are almost done our 4x4 coop and we are finding it difficult to figure out where to put the roost and what style, as ours is a smaller coop. We were thinking of 4 to 5 hens. What would you recommend??
I like the 2x4 lumber for roosts but that may be overkill in a 4x4 coop. The chickens will seek the highest point in the coop to roost so take that into consideration. You don't want the roosts too high up but you want them above the nest boxes or they will roost in those instead.
@@MikeKincaid79 do you think 1 roost would be enough going from one end of coop to another with little stairs going up to it? Thanks so much for ur help
Yes, for 4 or 5 chickens a 4 foot roost will be plenty. I'll bet 6 chickens would fit on it. You probably don't need stairs unless the roosts are really high up. The chickens will jump up to it if it's only a couple feet off the ground. Also, you could put another roost a few inches to a foot under the other roost and at a perpendicular angle. That would allow them to jump up to it easier and provide the "steps" you're talking about, and it would also provide more roost space.
Hi Trish, I saw your post about your 4x4 coop. I am making one about that size and was wondering what you ended up doing about the perch and how many did you put in and how many hens. Thanks
What’s the average nite time temperatures? I grew up on a ranch and I have never seen anything like that. Ours were about a foot apart and would peck at those that got too close to them.
Night temps in the winter range from 20’s to 40’s.
Mike, can you answer the famous question ?? What came first the chicken 🐓 or the egg 🥚?? 🤷🏼♀️ And Thank you, so very much. We truly love you videos.....
Sure wish I could. I'd have a 100 million view video if I knew the answer to that one, haha.
Mike Kincaid YES !! 😉
How high is your perch? Do you have perches in different heights to help the chickens go to the top perch? Thank you
I can't remember off the top of my head but they are about 3 feet up off the floor. I probably answered all your questions in the series of videos that are all linked in the description.
what about in the hot and humid weather? do they still pack together like that?
This was in the summer here but it never gets too humid in my area.
@@MikeKincaid79 Oh ok. I don’t know where you are, but here in TN we get hot and very humid weather. So I am not convinced our chickens will want or need to be that close to each other in the summer. But we will see.
i have 8 of them and they were growing in my flock since they were week old but for some reason they always peck each other while perching in night .please advise why they do so
When chickens are young or first introduced to each other, there is always a "pecking order". This is how they establish a hierarchy. It will continue through the chickens lives but calm down a lot once they decide who's boss and how everyone is ranked on down the line.
Reinforcing the term "hen party."
LOL
Off topic, but will figs survive inSeattle outside year round?
Yes
I have 12 chickens. According to u-tube they need at least 10 inches for space per bird. So I made sure they had at least 12ft + of space. All 12 uses around 3 to 4 feet of roost.I don’t know how they do it 🤷🏽♂️
Haha, I don't either. My birds cram onto the smallest space they can get.
finally the truth!!!
LOL, in video format!
How about the nesting boxes...ive got nesting boxes but about half the eggs are on the floor in homemade nests
There are 6 nesting boxes and so far they are laying in only the boxes.
It depends on how cold the night is
That's interesting. I'll have to keep my eye on it.
How far apart are the bars from each other
About 16 inches if I remember right. I've been getting that question a lot lately so maybe I need to go out there, measure, and make a video about it.
but how far apart are the roosting bars from each other
About a foot, maybe 14 inches.
Did you use plywood and T1-11 siding on your coop? If so, why?
I used T111. I wanted it to have a little style on the outside. You could use plywood and then nail strips to it every foot to give it the board and batten look.
@@MikeKincaid79 ...in the video it looks like you used both...? ...inside I see plywood but from the outside I see T111...
T111 looks like plywood on the inside. I did use plywood for the bottom part of the interior wall in the hen house side but there's T111 on the outside walls.
Sorry I may have missed it but how many chickens do you have in it?
At the time of the video, it was close to 40 but we've culled some out and lost a few to predators. Right now we have 17. We'll probably ramp up our chickens and raise more next spring. This coop will hold 40 chickens without a problem.
I only had 2 Roost of 8 feet with 30 chickens, they were all on one roost bar and a small part of the other right above the rest. Never have I seen them keeping a distance even in the summer they only gave themselves room to just Barely open their wings up. I am Building a new coop and was reading on how many roosts I needed, it really stressed me out and I felt Confused and Frustrated looking for the right info, I don’t want a big coop again. My other coop has red mites that came in from some hey, so have to build a new coop fast because I can’t get rid of them. I made the coop with too many cracks for the mites to hide in. ☹️
Yes, they definitely don't need or want as much roost space as people say they do. I wouldn't worry about the mites, they are a natural part of having chickens and you can't get rid of them. You can buy a dust that will help keep the mites under control and also a small area of sand for the chickens to take a dust bath can help.
@@MikeKincaid79 they are red mites and they are Extreme they were dropping from the ceiling all over me. They can get in your home and multiply very quickly. I tried a dust by some of my chickens have a Bad reaction to it and it it doesn’t get into the cracks of the wood well so would have to keep up with it. I’m starting over and going to use natural herbs in the coop and neem oil on their legs and on the wood. Going to use a rubber paint on the inside of the coop and cover all cracks so it is easy to clean as well as a sand tray to catch their droppings. Will be an open air coop with no floor, as little wood as possible. Its has been a nightmare, I don’t like bugs
I was actually just wondering about your chickens, do you have bees as well?
No bees but always wanted them. Eventually, I'll get into them.
Waiting for those chickens to get old,lucky me.
Hahaha
but you need to have more room for them, giving them option to sit closer, if they prefer. Remember, many of them tend to jump up in the middle of a crowd and knock some off the bar, too.
It's been a year and they are doing great in this coop.
Henry is beautiful.....what type of rooster is he?
My wife says that he's a Salmon Favorelle.
Thank you....he is majestic.
Why do you have the narrow end up? That looks like 1 by 3s. I thought that they needed enough flat surface to be able to wrap their feet around so they could sit down and have their feet completely covered by their body and feathers to protect them against frostbite especially in the winter.
They are 2x4s. I've been raising chickens like this for almost 17 years and never had a problem. I've had several different roosts and they always choose the 2x4s. Also, in the wild, chickens try to get up into tree branches to roost. This keeps them a little safer and further from some predators. I've never seen a flat branch that is 4 inches wide in nature, lol. All kidding aside, they do very well with the 2x4s, although I've had many people tell me it won't work or it's not good for them.
@@MikeKincaid79 Thank you so much for your response. I've been watching as many videos as I can and reading as much as I can to learn before my chickens arrive.
The best advice I can give is to not overthink it and just have fun with it. One of the downsides of UA-cam is that each of these different videos can get into every little detail about doing anything in life. And people who make these videos are all very passionate about what they do. I'll never tell you you can't do something and I always encourage experimentation. What I do here is based on lots of experience and I've been raising chickens since I was a kid (I'm 43 now). Having said that, I still won't tell you it's the only way. Just don't overthink it and have fun. The chickens really aren't that picky and they'll do well in a wide range of environments. Enjoy your new chickens and all the wonderful eggs they'll supply you with.
How high up is the roost? 3 feet?
It's about 3 feet up.
rule of thumb is 1 square foot per bird depend on size of adult birds
I like to debunk rules of thumb. It was fun to let the chickens tell me what they wanted.
Beauty men do young😊😊😊😊😊🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
My hens will climb on top of or push under each other.
Yep, lol, that's exactly what mine do.
What about in summer?
What's the question?
well on the other thumb is let the birds tell ya how much space they need
yep, lol
How about during hot weather?
I have a 2x4 window on either end in the chicken house section. They just have wire mesh over them to keep critters out and remain open all year. Plenty of air flow and no issues with heat.
@@MikeKincaid79 The chickens don’t want to spread out during the hot weather? Also how many nesting boxes do you need?
@@MikeKincaid79 my coop is a 12’ pyramid. I’ll vent the top and base. The roost size thing is the most inconsistent thing on the Internet right now. Some people think they need a lot more room when it’s hot. The shape of the nesting bar is also all over the place.Do they prefer to sleep flat-footed on a 2 x 4? I imagine they evolved by roosting on branches. I can’t see what they’re doing under there when they’re all fluffed up.
What’s on the bottom of the coop besides the chicken poo?
There's a sub-floor with linoleum over that. I did an entire build series on this coop if you're interested in seeing how it was built from start to finish. Here's the first video: ua-cam.com/video/ezoyrllltpQ/v-deo.html
@@MikeKincaid79 After I wrote that comment, I watched all of your build videos. Thank you. But, is that wood chips on the floor and when it is cleaned out in two weeks, where do you put the poopie chips from them roosting?Will they compost or do you burn them up
I JUST made it a 1,000 EVEN likes; tah dah
Lol, thanks!
Lol, thanks!
🤔I would say about 7 inches because thats the size of the boxes of 6 eggs in my supermarket 🤪😜🤣🤣🤣🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Hahahaha!!!
My rooster hogs one of my 4 foot long perches all to himself.
He needs to be taught some manners, lol
in the wild they hoost 9in trees
very true
weather matters of course...but dude they're not on the other one because it's TILTED?? and it's super wide compared to the other ones right? Plus it's got poop all over it, they will avoid something that is harboring mites etc. How about you add another one that's just like the ones they're on? And then test again :) Just sayin' lol
But they had another equal perch and they weren’t using it. Even if you don’t count the slanted one.
*Just because they can & do, doesn't mean they like it.*
If they didn't like it, they've got plenty more room to spread out.
People go crazy about animals j got cow horses donkeys chickens peacocks dogs they don't care about all those things just like you said there are animals not people an I love mine as much as anyone
Haha, everything you said, 100% true! Thanks, Tim.
Watch out for those deadly chicken eating predators
Got plans for them
Are all your birds the same age..Ours aren't , and the older 1s won't let the younger birds on the ladder I have so many roost for half the chicken that are in there now.
They're several different ages.
Trying to keep your arms still would have been a bonus, don't need all the animation thanks.
It looks like you are not well fed like your chicken! 😏
Oh yeah
The Best Reason why Mike said he does this. Is to show You (Us) how the Chicken’s want to be Perched. NOT Mans way but the way the Creator, YAH created (Psalms 68:4)
That is the Sign of an Amazing Gardener aka PLOWMAN
Wow, thanks for the fantastic comment. I'm humbled.