steve wolverton wrote:I did the math on it somewhere in the forums, and each 12" of overhang ended up supporting 15-20 pounds or something like that. I'd be willing to bet that if you screwed a 2x2 onto a picnic table with 12" sticking over the edge, and began stacking weight on it, you'd be surprised how much it would hold - and that's without the addtional strength of the plywood flooring that would allow even more weight.
A 6' 2x2, rounded over, will comfortably hold 60 lbs of chickens evenly distributed.
I built a custom table for my model railroad - a 3x7'x1/2" board with 1x4" skirt (notched so the board sat "in" it) and three 1x2 boards across the center - I accidentally stepped on it once and discovered that it was just fine holding my weight up. And that's with no bottom skin or insulation in between to help disperse the point weight.
Henry