On the Fence

     There are a lot of chickens in my neighborhood.  The young people who have recently moved in like to keep chickens.  I like the birds because they remind me of my childhood.  I enjoy weeding in my front yard because I can hear the chickens clucking across the street.  It's a soothing sound.
     There's also a small flock up the street.  Early one morning, I spied all but one of them lined up, perched atop the fence.  I didn't know chickens liked to sit on fence rails.  I found out that chickens like to roost at night on perches.  In fact, they need a place to roost.  They sleep off the ground where they are safe from predators.  Following the pecking order, the head hen gets the highest (safest) spot.  Members of the flock with less status sleep lower.  If they sleep in a row with the Queen of Clucking, subordinates have to take the outside edges and serve as look-outs.  Chickens' eyes are on opposite sides of their heads.  When a look-out's eye gets fatigued, they do an about face, using a fresh eye for guarding the flock, giving the original eye a rest.  If chickens sleep sitting on the ground or the hen house floor, they are vulnerable to foot infections from bacteria and parasites.  Sometimes rats and mice might even nibble their toes.  Chickens will spread out in warm weather, but they huddle together for warmth during the winter.  Perching on a metal fence is fine in the summer, but metal perches will cause frost bitten feet in the winter.  Some say the best perch is the 4" side of a wooden 2" X 4" board.  Hens can sit flat footed (their favorite stance) on the 4" surface, and they can transfer some of their weight from their feet to their keel-bone.  Their feet will not freeze to a wooden surface.  Plastic perching surfaces (like plastic pipe) are bad because they are slippery.
     If you want to comply with the latest research concerning your chicken's perch, you can measure their feet and make customized perches that will be most comfortable for them.  Custom perches should be flat with rounded edges.  Supposedly, the best perches  are wrapped with something washable that provides some cushioning, like a split open bicycle inner tube.
     One last thing:  Chickens poop in their sleep.  Their perches should not be located above their nesting boxes or their food and water supplies.         

On the Fence
They are not planning the great egg-scape.  They are just doing what chickens do.