Perches for roosting Anything within reach is fair game for a roosting chook! Including nets, feeders and the top of the fence. Without perches to roost on at night, the birds will huddle together in a corner of the hen house. Before long this will create a hard, caked patch of manure which will transfer to claws and feathers and then to nests and eggs – bad news for everybody. Providing perches for roosting will give you cleaner eggs, and calmer, less ‘flighty’ chickens. Additionally, the perch needs to be within a comfortable jumping height - 600mm (2 feet) is about right – and of the right thickness for their feet to get a secure hold. PART 3 ESTABLISHING YOUR OWN HOME FLOCK THE AVERAGE HEN 250MM (10 INCHES) NEEDS APPROXIMATELY OF PERCH SPACE 26 | THE CHOOK BOOK