Chickens are intelligent, friendly, curious creatures reared by more and more people worldwide. It can be a very rewarding activity but is also challenging. Healthy happy chickens need constant care, a secure, spacious environment, with essentials such as nesting boxes, covered coops, and perches as well as accessories like dust bowls, toys and of course plenty of food – all kept clean and fresh.
Chickens definitely need perches. Getting high off the ground not only offers security and protection from predators, but a well-designed perch is also a defense against infection. It allows the birds to relax and sleep comfortably and reduces stress levels in the entire flock.
You want to provide your chickens with the best possible environment, and one of the simplest but most effective ways to do this is to provide plenty of perches around the run. It’s not a hit-and-miss job – the type of perch, its position in the run and the coop, the amount of space each chicken needs on the perch, what to construct it from – we’ll answer all these questions, and more.
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Why Do Chickens Need Perches?
There are so many accessories one can put into the chicken run to amuse, entertain and occupy the time of your flock. The static perch is probably the most effective, for several reasons.
The Benefits Of Perches For Chickens
Roosting on a perch is an instinctive activity since they have always been prime targets for predators and need the security, but chickens will benefit in many other ways, too:
- Sleeping high off the ground means that the birds are less likely to get infected by bacteria, mites, and lice.
- Perches are hygienic, provided they are kept clean. Because the chickens are all in one place overnight, their poop is easy to collect, and there is less dirty bedding to clean out in the morning.
- Like humans, chickens need a secure place to relax and sleep to reduce stress in their daily lives. The positive spin-off for the farmer is that a happy chicken lays more eggs, so it’s a win-win situation.
- Roosting perches provide a warm environment, particularly in winter when the chickens tend to group together to escape the cold.
When Do Chickens Begin To Use A Perch?
Chicks will instinctively start to use a perch at four weeks. Remember that chicks should not be put into the general run before they are twelve to fifteen weeks old, so they will not be sharing a roosting perch with adults.
In fact, chicks will not use a perch to sleep on until they are eight to twelve weeks old, but they will perch on the edge of the brooder where they are being kept, or you could provide them with small branches close to the ground that they can climb onto.
The Pecking Order On The Perch
The pecking order is the established social hierarchy that applies in the flock, and it’s evident when you look at the positions the chickens take up on the perch. The more senior birds get the top perches, with the lowest in the pecking order on the lower rungs. Interestingly, the top-of-the-order chickens also get the center positions, which are the most secure.
So, the perch not only reflects the pecking order but defines it, too – the lower levels are less secure, and the birds occupying those perches are more susceptible to attack from predators and infections. So, when new birds arrive and the pecking order changes, the stronger birds are more likely to maintain their positions.
The Three Types Of Perches And Their Function
- The general perch is one that a chicken uses to take a quick nap or to sit and watch the activity of the others. It could be a tree branch, a fence post, or the top of a gate – it’s not designed to be perch, but it’s an ideal spot for a chicken to keep an eye on things.
- The roosting perch is where the chickens go at night with others in the flock to sleep securely, stay warm, and relax in a safe environment. Chickens are practically blind at night (their eyes are not designed to see In the dark), so the perch provides security against predators.
- The portable perch is basically a table with a stand fitted with one or two perches above it. It is used mainly when temporarily housing chickens outside their regular coop, for example, when they are isolated for any reason or when using a mobile coop. It can also be used when training young chicks to use a perch before they are housed in the main coop.
Making The Perfect Perch For Your Coop
As we’ve mentioned, the perch is not only one of the best pieces of equipment in the coop but also one of the cheapest to provide. The recommended material is wood, and you will often find offcuts that suit the perch perfectly.
The Structure Of The Perch
If you’re going to build the roosting perch yourself, there are a couple of tips that will help:
- Ensure that the perches are strong enough to bear the combined weight of the birds resting on them. An average chicken weighs around 4.4 pounds and a large chicken 11 pounds.
- It would be best if you allowed about eight to ten inches per bird, so the perches need to be long enough as well as strong enough to carry the entire flock.
- Place your roosting perches under cover so the chickens are protected from the rain while resting.
- To avoid the birds pooping on the ones below, there should be a horizontal space of twelve inches between the perches and about a fifteen-inch vertical gap. This applies if you’re building a ladder-style multi-tiered roost.
- Chickens, unlike wild birds, sleep with their feet flat, not hooked around the perch, although their toes will curl over the edge. The ideal perch is a square wooden 2×2 or a rectangular 2×4 with the 4-inch side vertical.
- The bottom perch should be low enough for the chicken to hop up onto it, about eighteen to twenty-four inches above the floor. The higher perches must be accessible, too, so you might need to provide a ladder for the birds to use.
- Separate the perches from the nesting boxes as you don’t want the chickens to roost in them. You may choose to close the boxes for a while at night while the flock gets accustomed to sleeping on the roosting perches.
Conclusion
For all the reasons we’ve discussed, chickens need perches and will benefit greatly from having sufficient room to rest and sleep in a safe space during the night. A stress-free chicken is more productive, so it’s worth your while building perches for the entire flock.
Perches are available commercially, but they are such simple structures that you can very easily build them yourself and at minimal cost, as you may well have enough offcuts in your shed to do a great job. Good luck!
