how high is to high for roosts

[FreedomLover]

Heh .. mine like to roost so high that alot of the time they don't even stay in the coop.

I've got a purina coop with a small attached run.

Then once, they started getting bigger, I put up a huge 10' tall x 20' x 40' run around the whole she-bang.

Well, now they hop up on the "door" to the attached run, to the roof of the attached run, to the roof of the coop, then to the top of the outter run.

 

[The Lazy L]

Would a buff Orp manage to fly up to a roost about 3ft high?

Yes. At one month of age mine were hop/flying to the 1 1/2' roost and from there hop/flying up to the 3' roost to spend the night.

 

[LittleChooks]

Cheers, any idea about a Bovans goldline

 

[galefrances]

I thought I had done enough research, but now after reading all these comments I think I've made my roost too high. I have two, the first about 4 ft high then the next 5 ft high. I have a ladder going up to the first roost thinking they would use that to climb up and down. Am I wrong about this? Should I just lower the roosts? (my husband will kill me) I was told to have the nesting boxes lower than the first roost and not to have them on the floor, so they're 18 inches off the floor. How do I fix this? My chicks aren't in the coop yet.

 

[hollyhock]

I put our roost at 28", the wyandotte's had no problem but the sussex (big birds) had a lot of trouble, so i lowered it and lowered it. now seams to work, i asked my wife if i should put in a chicken elevator

 

[hollyhock]

Reading this makes me feel better about the interior I just finished (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/615721/questions-and-a-little-encouragement-along-the-way).

great idea looks good and functional

 

[LittleChooks]

Your roosts should be fine as long as they have a ladder up. I don't know about nesting boxess though, are yours inside or can you collect eggs from outside?

 

[Coop de Grille]

I have two roosts that are 2 ft high, two that are 4 ft high, a 6 ft high roost and then a dividing wire wall that is 8 ft high. Above that is the rafter to the coop about 10-12 inches higher. My BO's hang out on the 4ft high roost, two of my Production Red's hang out with her or on the 2 ft high ones, but all the others fight for the top of the wall and the rafters. They will fly up to the 4 ft high roost, then fly up to the top of the wall. They all fly down to the floor, none of them use the lower roosts on the way down.

 

[galefrances]

My nesting boxes are inside the coop. They're low enough to enter without a ladder. Just 18 inches off the floor, there is a 2 in. board to rest on before entering the box itself. You can see the roosts along the back wall. What do you think?

 

[galefrances]

Coop de Grille,

Wow, your coop is great. Do you have any problems with bumblefoot? I heard that can happen if they fly down to far and land hard. I'm new to all this and getting so confused.