How high should the nesting boxes be?

[masschix]

I'm finally at the stage of putting up the nesting boxes (milk crates in our case), but not sure what height to put them at. I temporarily have the boxes screwed in at 26" from the floor to the perch in front of the boxes....Will that be ok?

 

[poopcoop]

If your coop is secure enough you can even put them on the floor.

 

[masschix]

The coop is very secure! But is the height ok at 26", or should it be lowered? I was hoping that I could use the floor space below for them to walk around.

 

[Mrs MIA]

It depends on the breeds, too... my silkies don't like the nest boxes high up. I've also found that if you put the nests below the roosts, they are less likely to roost at night in the nests...

 

[patandchickens]

26" should be just fine, assuming it is lower than the roost. It does not matter a giant amount -- in the unlikely event you end up with boxes mounted too high for them to comfortably get to, you can just add a slightly lower 'stepstool' type rail in front.

Have fun,

Pat