If you are going to keep chickens they will need a perch. The perch provides a place for the chickens to roost at night. They are easy for the do it yourselfer (DIY) to construct.
This post will give you information on what materials to use and how to assemble perches for your chickens. This post will cover three different ways to make a perch.
- A Natural Method
- A Store Bought Method (requires a power tool)
- A Method That Reuses An Old Tool
1. Using Tree Branches To Make A Chicken Perch
This method mimics nature by providing tree branches for the chickens to perch on. These perches can be assembled with the help of a few screws and a screw gun. The draw back is that the perch takes up more space than the other methods because of the supporting branches.
2. Using A Two By Two To Make A Chicken Perch
This is how I made the perches for my chicken coop. Cut a two by two (2×2) to the desired length. Use a router to put a chamfered edge on the upper side of the two by two. This eases the edge of the dimensional lumber and gives the birds something to hold on to. The pictures below show a top down view and a view from the side.
3.Using An Old Wooden Ladder For A Chicken Perch
I have seen this method used in two different coops. As extension ladder technology has moved on to either aluminium or fibre glass, many people have old wooden ladders that have fallen into disuse. These ladders make great perches for chickens. They are easy to cut to length because they are wooden. They can easily be secured to the sides of the coop using joist hangers from the hardware store.
Conclusion
Chickens need some where to roost at night. There are at least three different ways to make a perch depending on what materials are available.
If you have a unique way of making a chicken perch, I would love to hear about it in the comments.
Related Pages
- Raising chickens in the backyard page.
- Chicken Coop 2.0.
- The day my chicken coop caught on fire.
- Low cost rubber membrane for chicken coops.
- All about chicken nest boxes.
