How high is your roost?

[JNC]

I have an only pullet who used to sleep in small hole that she made in the insulation about 2-3 feet high but she grew out of it so now she goes on a shelf I have in there that is about 4-5 feet high. She uses the branch that used to guide her to her hole to get to the high shelf. My question is, is that to high? Should I lower it or will she be fine? I don’t mind her being up there since I know she’s a bit safer if an animal were to go in.

 

[bill3607]

She will be fine. I have one roost about 5' and another around 6'. They prefer the higher.
Most chickens like the highest ground they can get to.

 

[aart]

I have an only pullet who used to sleep in small hole that she made in the insulation about 2-3 feet high but she grew out of it so now she goes on a shelf I have in there that is about 4-5 feet high. She uses the branch that used to guide her to her hole to get to the high shelf. My question is, is that to high? Should I lower it or will she be fine? I don’t mind her being up there since I know she’s a bit safer if an animal were to go in.

You only have one bird....or is she the only young female in a flock of older birds?
How high a roost is 'safe' may depend on how big the coop is, they need a good landing place.
Pics of your coop and roost might help here.

 

[Sally PB]

My roost is about 30" off the bedding on the floor of the coop. I had it up higher, but lowered it in the winter to have more space above the birds' heads between them and the ventilation openings. It's still higher than the nest boxes, which was my "baseline" measurement. The bedding on the floor is plenty thick and soft enough for them (Australorps and Orpington) to land on.

I have seen them jump down to the floor. I have also seen them hop down to the poop board and then to the floor.

 

[saysfaa]

Too high is possible in some situations. The heavier the bird, the less cushion on the floor, and the sharper the angle of descent - the more force on their joints when they land coming down. That can result in injuries even if they don't crash into anything except the floor. And/or in arthritis.

My roost is about 52" above the wooden floor, so about 45" above the top of the current bedding level. They roosted on top of the wall (about 7 feet high) for a few weeks. They could land on the roost on the way down but they usually didn't so I blocked it off. I think it is fine for the leghorns and is too high for the australorps to safely jump down from long term, even with very fluffy bedding,

 

[saysfaa]

Their instinct is to go as high as they can... I've seen credible stories of chickens roosting 30 or 40, even 100 feet up in trees. But their instinct doesn't take into account how much heavier they are than Red Jungle Fowl or that they aren't landing on 100's of years worth of leaf mold. I think the instinct is satisfied when they are as high up as they can go - whether it is 30 inches or many feet up.

 

[JNC]

Here’s a picture of my set up. The brown line shows the stick she uses to get up to the shelf (i accidentally knocked the stick down so I’m currently fixing it) where she sleeps in the corner (red circle) and blue circle is where she dug a hole when she was a chick to sleep (kinda patched now)