Planning ahead

When the chicks get too big for the hamster cage they will have one of the nest boxes (actually called small animal houses) as their coop just we have always used before for this purpose. The draw back with this is not having a perch and so the chicks having to sit amongst the night time poop.

I have tried to come up with ideas for a temporary perch before but nothing was really successful. As the chicks are going to be in there for a longer period than previously, probably four months, I feel it’s more important to try to come up with some sort of perch. Also from the way they spend time on the platform in the hamster cage I feel that they want to perch and it would also help them with the eventual transition to the chicken shed.

Yesterday I looked for something that would be free standing to add to the nest box, when needed for new girls, but that could be easily removed when it reverts back to being a nest box again.

I first tried the pet shop but found nothing suitable. I then tried the pound shop which is next door to the pet shop. I found myself in the gardening bit and picked up a herb trough. I thought it could be repurposed and at a pound it didn’t much matter if it didn’t work.

I thought the chicks could perch on the edge of it but it would be better to have a perch that they could grip all round. I thought a thick bamboo stick would be the right size and I could attach it with wire to the herb box through the gaps either end of the trough.

I set about this and was quite pleased with the result. This could sit in the nest box/temporary coop and be removed when no longer needed but kept for the future when needed again.

I plan to half fill the trough with pine shavings for easy poop picking. We also plan to screw it to the floor of the little coop nest box so that it can’t tip up. We will use just one screw in the centre to hold it place and I will keep the screw driver in my chicken store cabinet so that I can remove it at any time.

My movable perch system

The perch in situ

I got Freckles to try it out

I used Freckles to demonstrate as she is the easiest girl to pick up. In the photo Freckles was just leaving as I had to plonk her on the perch and then grab my camera. I wasn’t quick enough to catch her on the middle perch.

It will sit lower than this as I had just plonked it on top of the shavings but when properly installed I will clear the shavings and place it on the floor of the little coop then fluff the shavings around it.

I think this will work. Time will tell!