Perches

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Bramax

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Sorry, another question! But I am new to all this and I want to get it as right as I can.

We bought a hen house and the perch is nailed in. Have since been reading up on red mite and now realise the perch should be removeable. So please can anyone suggest how to fix removeable perches to a wooden house? I thought of making a "cup" in a piece of wood that the perch will fit snugly into, but then that piece of wood would need to nailed or glued to the house so I'd just be creating a different place for mites to hide. I'm sure the solution is really obvious but I'm not seeing it at the moment so any suggestions will be gratefully received. And if we're moving the perch what is the best height for it to be for hybrids?

Many thanks.
 
Which ever way you fix perches, there will be an opportunity for red mite to hide so you need to keep up to date with treating the wood. Some of us use the well tied creosote but even this may need to be re-applied if you see any signs of mite. Ant & crawling insect powder works OK. Every so often you need to lift the perches and treat them and where they sit. I keep a second set for each house so that one lot are in use while the other is out for treatment. To keep the perches in place I put a long screw each side of the perch so that it can be lifted out but a cup is OK.

2'6'' - 3'6^ from floor is OK for hybrids and perches need to be 2" square and quite smooth. I use treated ones with rounded edges.
 
I have bought planed Canadian Cedar 80mm wide x 35 mm deep with rounded edges. Have made a 'cup' arrangement in 19mm exterior grade plywood (interior grade falls apart when it gets wet during mite treatment) which the perches rest into. Needs to be a snug fit or the perches wobble. Not screwed in at all but constrained by the lengh being the same as the internal width of the coop. Chickens love them. To avoid bumble foot they are only 18 inches off the floor. They were 2 feet high before, which caused problems even for our hybrids. Remember birds get old and can't get onto a high perch. The knots in the wood are sealed with Silicone as are the cups to the walls. Can be removed later if required as the adhesive properties of the Silicone, after the wood has got wet a few times, are very poor. The silicone removes the gaps the mite hide in.
 
My perches are made from 2" x2" rounded off on 2 sides. They also rest in wooden cups fixed to the coop sides. Perches are not screwed to cups, just a snug fit. All gaps kept filled with barrier red mite powder. Also keep a spare set so any soiled perches can be removed, scrubbed and left to dry. Perches taken out and inspected (especially underneath) on a regular basis. ;)
 
In my Green Frog plastic house the perches slip into shaped holes in the side of the house, and are held in place by lynch pins through vertical holes in the perches on what is the outside when they're in place. Would work equally well in wood. No problems constructing wooden cups or treating and cleaning them for mites. You only have to slip the perches out for cleaning and inspect the holes to see they are also clean.
See video demo at http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenfrogdesigns/4890570966/in/set-72157622568644012/

I agree about not having the perches too high, but ensure they're above the level of the nestboxes, as the birds like to roost as high as possible and if this is higher then the nesttboxes they are less likely to want to sleep in them.
 
I had to buy urgently a small hen house to move two of my chickens because one was being bullies. The only one I could get the same day was from a local supplier and the perch is nailed, so not removable. I just dust it frequently at either end with Diatom powder and make sure it goes all around and in any gaps. Haven't got red mite, so hope this is working.
 
Would using metal fittings be any advantage, at least they would be easily smeared with vaseline to trap the mites. I am thinking about the sort of fittings for wardrobe hanging poles. You might have to reduce the size of the perches to fit.
Just a thought.
 
Half hearted measures like Vaseline will do you no good. Metal fittings if there's any indentation will not be much better. Plastic fares no better either.
 
The 3 new chicks i have just bought for the life of me i just cant get them to sit on the perch.The birds are 14 weeks old.even going in at night and sitting them on it they just jump off and huddle in corner.
 
Fatrob said:
The 3 new chicks i have just bought for the life of me i just cant get them to sit on the perch.The birds are 14 weeks old.even going in at night and sitting them on it they just jump off and huddle in corner.
Click to expand...

Some take a long time to get the hang of perching, others start when very young even on ledges that are not meant for that purpose. They'll go up when they're ready.
 
Most people say that it's not good to encourage young birds to perch, (ie under 16-18 weeks) as with some breeds sitting there for long periods can cause deformities of the growing breastbone, especially with the heavier breeds. It's quite natural for growers not to want to perch all night, though they may like to hop up on to perches in the run during the day to see what's going on. So I'd say don't worry, they'll perch when they're ready, and if they still aren't perching in a month's time, then try training them by putting them on thre perches at night after they've settled down.
 
Most of my perches are hanging from the roof or rafters on wires, because that was the only way I could construct them. They rock of course when the birds fly onto them, so I suppose they would not be any use for heavy inactive birds, but my birds all take to them very well. You wouldn't want to use this methd though in a house with nervous birds or a large number, because there must be some risk of their flying into the wires. This hasn't happened to me yet though.
 
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