Good afternoon, experienced and novice poultry farmers. Proper roosting of chickens at night eliminates conflicts in the herd, promotes the health of laying hens and makes cleaning the chicken coop easier. Why do chickens want to sleep upstairs: on trees or sticks? This is an instinctive defense against predators. Therefore, laying hens and roosters will feel good after proper rest.
By the way, if the perches in the chicken coop are located at different levels in height, then the leaders of the family are immediately visible. The main layers will win their place higher, and the hens of a lower rank in the chicken hierarchy sleep on the lower bars. Here’s the first tip: it’s better to install perches for chickens on the same level so that the girls don’t fight among themselves.
And it is not recommended for chickens to spend the night on the floor because there may be parasites in the straw on the ground that are dangerous for the feathered coats. And it’s cooler on the floor, especially in winter.
How to make nests for laying hens?
Nests should be placed in a far, secluded corner of the chicken coop away from bright light. It is optimal to make multi-tiered nest boxes for chickens and attach them to the wall in the chicken coop. The section of nests is attached to the wall of the chicken coop in any convenient way (nails, screws, dowels).
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How does a chicken sleep?
Interesting facts were discovered when studying how a chicken sleeps. In order for the chickens to be fully productive, they require the most comfortable living conditions.
To do this, you even need to equip your sleeping place in the best possible way. But don’t forget that a chicken is a bird and it sleeps on a perch or perch.
Chickens' sleep is quite restless. This bird can wake up three times during the night. This happens when the rooster crows his “song”. Why is he doing this? Apparently, in order to attract the attention of relatives to possible dangers and, thereby, protecting them from death. But so far these are only assumptions of scientific ornithologists, and the real reasons for this behavior have not yet been fully studied.
Chickens sleep on roosts - just as their wild ancestors slept on branches in nature. At the same time, the chicken's paw is designed so that it securely holds the bird, preventing it from falling. And the long and sharp claws serve as a hook.
When setting up a roost in a chicken coop, many important details need to be taken into account. For example, the height of the seating area. The optimal height is about a meter above the floor. Of course, chickens won’t mind too much if you place the roost under the ceiling. But this will take a lot of energy when the birds settle down for the night and can even be injured if they fall. After all, everyone knows that chickens cannot fly due to weakness of the pectoral muscles. But a perch that is too low will also not suit the birds. This is because chickens will not feel safe low to the floor.
Equipping a chicken coop with shelves is completely unsuitable for chickens as a night place. Even sitting on such a shelf, the chickens' toes bend, and the bird simply cannot maintain its balance. Her sleep, already intermittent and disturbing, becomes completely impossible. The chickens are starting to get sick. And one cannot even dream of egg production in such conditions.
One more detail to consider. In the chicken coop, when the birds have settled down for the night, it is extremely undesirable to suddenly turn on a bright light. This frightens the chickens, and in the first few minutes, it makes them completely blind. It seems that there is no need to explain to anyone what stress is. And the harm caused by such human behavior will not take long to occur.
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Prevention of diseases in poultry
According to the recommendations, vaccination and the introduction of vitamins into the feed should be carried out. Timely dietary supplements will provide chickens with immunity. Chicks and adult chickens should not be mixed together. Once a month it is necessary to disinfect the chicken coop, which includes thoroughly cleaning the floor, walls, perches, feeders and treating them with special solutions.
The chicken coop must be ventilated daily. To avoid introducing infection into your chicken coop, it is recommended to buy eggs and chickens only from reliable suppliers, industrial incubators or large poultry farms. Your purchase must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate with full information about the vaccinations performed.
Temporarily house new chickens separately so that the young chickens grow and become stronger. Quarantine the new batch and keep it for at least 10, and preferably 14 days. During this time, any infection will definitely manifest itself. Every day it is recommended to examine the new arrival, paying attention to appearance, general condition, and appetite. If after 14 days the bird is alert and active, it can be released into the main lineup.
How long do chickens sleep?
Options for perches for chickens photo
This is how chickens spend the night on roosts according to all the rules. Everything is quite simple. By the way, if the area of the chicken coop allows, it is better to attach the perches opposite the nests. One lady went to sleep, and all the others will rush to the perches, and not to the nests.
If you don’t want to often clean under the perches, and generally sniff and clean the chicken coop, then practice keeping chickens on Netto-Plast bedding (this is sawdust + bacteria): the house is always dry, warm in winter, no smell, no flies, and cleaning is done once every 3 years!
By using these laying hen roost tips, you can create a great roosting area so your hens can sleep peacefully at night... which means you'll sleep better without being woken up by chicken noise in the barn.
Good luck!
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Overnight roosting for chickens and rules for their location
Firstly, the material . You can use strong branches, old ladders, and timber to make a perch. You can round the edges a little if you want more comfort for the hens. Plastic pipes: it will be slippery, girls will fall at night and scream like real victims.
Chickens spend the night on metal perches: their paws will freeze in winter!
Secondly, the location of the perches in the chicken coop . Birds in a dream make large piles of droppings. Therefore, position the perches in such a way that it is convenient to remove these strips of droppings from the litter. Of course, you cannot place chicken roosts over feeders, drinking bowls, or nests. The reason is the same.
Thirdly, the width of the crossbar . The most convenient crossbar size for medium-sized hens is 3-4 cm. Our feathered ladies do not need to completely cover the pole with their paws in order to hold on tighter and sleep more peacefully. Wild birds interlock their fingers in a tight ring. Please note that chickens sleep comfortably on flat perches with their feet extended. Make 2 options: in the shape of a stick and a flat board. Watch.
The fourth rule is height . Chickens will normally sleep both at a height of 30 cm from the floor and at a height of 30 cm from the ceiling. If you make perches at different levels and at a height of more than 50 cm from the floor, then mount a ladder. It will be convenient for girls to get to the top pole on foot, because it is difficult to take off if the wings are not spread between the poles.
The fifth rule is perch length . The longer the perches, the better! Hens should be able to roost freely for the night. It is unacceptable for them to put pressure on each other, especially from above. This can cause stressed chickens' feet to become sore overnight. In winter, when it’s cold, our feathered beauties will sit closer to each other, like penguins, and will be warmed by sisterly warmth. And when it’s hot, they roost at a distance, spreading their wings for ventilation on sweltering summer nights.
Rule six, distance between perches . When cascading, make the distance between the crossbars at least 40 cm. This is so that the upper sleeping birds do not pile heaps of droppings on the backs of the lower birds.
And finally, rule number seven. None of the perches should be lower than the nests . And this is so that no one will be tempted to settle down for the night in the nest, because it is higher. You don't want to clean out poop nests every morning at dawn to collect clean eggs, do you?
What kind of perch should there be
Before you answer, remember what a chicken foot looks like. All fingers except one point forward. Thanks to this structure, the chicken holds tightly to the perch and does not fall anywhere.
Therefore, you need to take into account that shelves or wide boards will not work - the diameter of the perch must be chosen so that the chicken can comfortably grip it with its paw.
For one bird, about 22 cm is enough for comfortable placement, but try to leave more space, it will be more comfortable for the chickens. If the hens do not have enough space, they will push the weak ones.
Note! A perch located at the same height allows the chickens to have equal rights.
Salmonellosis in chickens
It is transmitted by air through eggs, droppings, feed, quickly spreads from a sick bird throughout the chicken coop, as well as to the person to whom it gets with the eggs and meat of infected chickens and causes severe food poisoning. According to the World Health Organization, salmonellosis is the most dangerous infection of all diseases common to humans and animals and the most diverse, since there are about 2 thousand variants of salmonella pathogens. Salmonellosis affects chickens up to 1 month of life. You can find out about these diseases of domestic chickens and their symptoms on the Internet. To all the common symptoms of infections in chickens are swelling of the paw joints, enlargement and inflammation of the peritoneum and mucous membranes, and difficulty breathing. There are also types of salmonella that do not cause symptoms. Salmonella attacks the liver and other internal organs of poultry. Sick chickens are treated with furazolidone, streptomycin, sulfonamide, chloramphenicol, and chlotetracycline. It is better to prevent diseases of young animals and laying hens, so even healthy chickens need a course of prophylaxis with synthomycin or chloramphenicol. Salmonella bacteria are highly resistant to the external environment: in bird droppings they remain viable for up to 4 months, in tap water for up to 2 months, in reservoirs for up to 7 months, in soil for up to 1 year.
Infectious diseases in chickens
Diseases of chickens and their effective treatment should be prescribed immediately after diagnosis, since diseases of laying hens, symptoms and treatment are always nearby. It is not uncommon for birds to become infected with some kind of infection. To do this, you need to read the description in detail and look at photos of laying hens affected by the disease. Symptoms of an infectious disease in farm laying hens must be recognized at a very early stage, since they spread very quickly in the chicken coop. What should you pay attention to during a daily preventive examination of poultry in order to identify a disease in domestic laying hens and urgently begin their treatment?
Several signs will tell the owner that the bird is not healthy
- The chicken looks lethargic and sleepy, closes its eyes for a long time and lowers its wings. When examining sick individuals, an elevated temperature, more than 42 degrees, and intermittent breathing are revealed.
- Makes hoarse sounds similar to croaking, shakes its head violently, wipes its beak on its feathers and looks dirty in the area of the cloaca and disheveled.
- He eats little, diarrhea, loses weight.
When the first signs appear that a chicken is sick and diarrhea appears in one or more hens or chickens, you need to immediately quarantine them from healthy birds and begin a course of treatment with antibiotics, as this is a clear sign of chicken diseases.
