Cedar roosts for chickens

The multi-tiered roosting station Mark made in the starplate coop has been working like a charm.  Local legend has it that using red cedar branches in this application will keep mites
at bay, but I have to admit our chickens are so healthy we’ve never
seen a mite with or without cedar perches.  Still, the cedar roosts
are well-received, with everyone who fits perching on the top tier and
with any spillover enjoying the middle perch.  (The lowest perch
was for chicks, and it did its job well.)



The astute reader will notice that there’s no bedding
under the roost.  Usually, I like to keep all coop floors
completely covered with leaves and/or straw, counting on the high-carbon
material to hold onto the nitrogen in the chicken manure.  With
such a big coop and with so few birds involved, though, I’ve let the
chicken droppings just fall onto the dirt floor in the starplate
coop.  I plan to scoop the manure out soon and apply it to the poor
soil in the tree alley, which should take care of any slight smell that would otherwise develop in the coop.