How high?

[lilredchick]

How high/tall can the nest be off the floor?

I know simple question, but im not sure the answer.



thanks

 

[mdbokc]

12-18 inches is nice depending on your style of coop.. Your roosts need to be above that height or they will roost on top of the nests.

 

[elmo]

Well, that depends on a lot of things. First of all, you generally want your nest to be lower than your roosts, because otherwise your hens might try roosting in or on the nest box and pooping there at night. Secondly, the heavier breeds of chickens can't fly as easily as the lighter or bantam breeds, so if your chickens are the big girls, you'll need to keep everything lower down for their comfort.

Finally, you need to consider what will work best in your particular coop set up, and think about what will make life easier for you when you collect eggs. Even though my bantams are excellent fliers (and I've seen them scoping out the six foot high roof of their coop as a possible nesting site), I use plastic bins for nesting boxes and set them right on the floor of the coop or the ground of the run. I like plastic because it's easy to clean and mites can't hide in crevices because there are none. I like the fact that I can move the boxes around, too. It's come in very handy now that I have a broody hen.

 

[meriruka]

Kinda depends on the size of your birds. Good rule of thumb is to put your nest boxes lower than your roosts so the birds don't sleep in the nests. I usually put the roost high enough so the chickens feel safe but low enough that the biggest bird won't hurt himself jumping down from it. Except the silkies, poor things, about 2 feet up is all they can manage.

 

[lilredchick]

thanks for the info!

to give you a idea of my coop, I am converting a 10x10 horse stall into a coop. As you can see in my sig, I have some bigger hens.
I was going to start the first set of nest 12" off the ground, the next set will be 24" off the ground, the 3rd set being 36"
I figure my heavier hens will go for the lower ones while the lighter ones will go for the higher ones.

And then I plan on putting roosts on the other side wall, and maybe one in the center.


the ceiling is 8' at the back and 10' at the front.

I hope I explained it ok

 

[newchicksnducks]

Depending on how many you have in your 10x10 stall, you may want to raise the boxes 6+ inches. This way there will uninterrupted floor space under the boxes. Just a thought. My lowest box is about 18" off the ground, and one more row on top of that. I have similar sized breeds. And go figure, they mostly like to use the upper boxes!

 

[lilredchick]

what is the highest nest you have?

im guessing 12-18" off the ground, but how high? I know I dont want them to high, I want to be able to still get the eggs LOL
But whats a good height, 4' 5'?