How can I keep my chickens from roosting on the barn beams?

[valper]

My chicken coop is a repurposed large room in my old barn that I fixed up for my first flock. They have plenty of roosting bars (made from trees) and places to "sit" if they need to, for example when they huddle up if it's cold.

So even if they have several spots to choose from, they always prefer to climb as far up as they can. When morning comes, they don't use the other bars to come down from their perches but rather fly out. This is not so bad for some of my bantam girls that are light and agile but my older, heavier girls have a hard time. Today I discovered that my 2 year old Maran has a black scab which I suspect is bumblefoot, possibly from crashing down every time she comes out for the day.

How can I encourage them to roost on one of the lower bars since removing the barn beams is not a possibility?

 

[Percheron chick]

Remove the roots that they use to get to the top. They can't fly up to the rafters from the ground and have to stair step up. You could also just slide a piece of plywood or cardboard between the rafters to block it.

 

[Mamatomany123]

You'll need to block them off. Chickens will roost at the highest spot they can get to.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Use some bird netting draped over all the rafters. They will not be able to get through the netting to roost

 

[aart]

Maybe staple chicken wire onto bottom of rafters.

 

[Folly's place]

If your chicken pen in the barn is roofed, as it needs to be to keep out predators, they can't get to the rafters. They will always want the highest roosts, but the rafters shouldn't be available in their coop area.
Pictures?
Mary

 

[texsuze]

Is the room too large to install a false ceiling panel at a lower height, using a wood frame and hardware cloth? Something that covers the top of the entire room, and only tall enough for humans to walk underneath. Might need to be in sections, and could either be suspended from the existing barn beams, or, supported by vertical posts. You could then reposition some of the roosts.