Chicken Houses

[BonnieT]

Hi,

I wonder if I could pick your excellent brains -

I have just unpacked my lovely henhouse with integrated run which arrived today - bargain! £86 on ebay (er, that is a bargain, isn't it?).In all the books I have read it does say that they are much happier with a perch, but that you need two feet beneath and two feet headroom to have a perch.
Does anybody have hens which are perching with less space than this? I am very wary because my dad made a perch for his and they simply side stepped around it!
I am very conscious that if I do not have a perch I will have to clean out the house every day which could pose tricky as it is dark by the time I get home.
The house is about 1 meter square in depth and height. Any advice would be welcome! Thanks
Bonnie

[Martin]

- just site the perch the height of the chicken plus about 4 inches from the roof - even if that means it's only a few inches off the floor - they're really "lost" without a perch (bit like offering you the floor for the night).
Go for about 2" width of perch, with just the squared edges smoothed off, they'll be happy as pigs in ****
Many people are tempted by wood shavings/ sawdust, but I've always done better with good clean straw, both in the nest boxes, and on the floor!

[Thomzo]

My girls ignored their perch for ages. In fact, there is a thread on here somewhere about me trying to get them to use their perch. So I wouldn't panic if you can't get a perch fitted in time.

Don't worry about cleaning out every day either. Perch or not. I didn't when they weren't perching. Just make sure there's plenty of bedding. I use a combination of shredded paper, grass cuttings and, just at the moment, swept up leaves. They love them so much I can't get the girls out of the hen house and there are so many jobs I want them to do around the garden

Zoe

[Milims]

The chickens you own only need to have a perch about 6" form the floor. The chickens paid for on account need to be on higher purchase!!

[Annpan]

groan.... wah, wah, wah


(does that translate in computer speak?)