THE REALITIES ABOUT POULTRY The Modern Farm - The Realities About Poultry_Seco | Page 48

 Perches and roosts: Chickens prefer to roost at night on perches. Perching space of 15 to 20
cm should be allowed for each bird. Birds lower in the social peck order can also use the perches
during the day. The cross-section of each perch bar should be 2 to 3 cm. Their length depends
upon the number of birds to be housed. The perches should be placed within a frame, and
aligned parallel to the wall, and horizontally, with a sliding, removable platform called the
“droppings board” about 20 cm below the perches to catch the manure droppings. The first
perch bar should be placed 20 to 25 cm out from the back wall, and subsequent ones at 30 to 40
cm intervals. The droppings board should touch the back wall and extend 30 cm in front of the
front perch bar, as this will allow the birds to land from their flight from the floor before seeking
a perching spot.
Droppings boards should be a maximum of 75 cm from the floor of the house, and the perch
bars should be about 20 cm above the droppings board, to facilitate cleaning of the droppings
board. Fowls deposit over half their droppings at night, and the use of the droppings boards
thus helps to keep the floor clean. The manure can then be easily collected, dried and stored in
empty feed sacks for use as an excellent fertilizer for plants requiring organic nitrogen. The area
under the droppings board then becomes an ideal site for a communal nest.
 Nest boxes. To avoid excessive competition and minimize eggs laid on the floor, one nest
should be provided for every five hens. If larger communal nests are used, at least one square
meter per 50 birds should be allowed. Baskets, pots and cardboard boxes can be used for nests.
Dimensions suitable for a basket or pot nest are a 25 cm base diameter, 18 cm high walls, and a
40 cm open top diameter. Nests should be situated in a secure, shady secluded place out of the
sun, lined with fresh litter and kept clean. Nest boxes for individual hens should be constructed
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