I have a question about roost safety.

[operator16]

I built these lovely little roosts in front of my nest boxes with smooth, sanded 2x4 that are about 24 inches from the ground....

All 12 of my birds have chosen to roost on a board in the rafters that's over 6 feet off the ground. They all smash onto this board that's about 4 feet long and push and push until the one on the end is squished between the roof and the rafters rather snugly.

Is this safe? I thought it would be ideal if they roosted closer to the floor. I'm worried about them falling or being pushed off from that height. Do I need to make those rafters unavailable?





(On a funny note....They have the same order each night for who sits next to whom. If they are out of order the one who has messed up gets a few big pecks on top of her head. The last gal who messed up the order was pecked hard once and fell off the rafter. She made it to the floor ok but was ruffled.)

 

[dixiechick]

They feel safer up high..no predators to get them up there. My dad's chickens roost in the tippy-top of his trees (under the cover of small branches). Not to worry, they are perfectly safe up there.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

I've seen a couple fall and while not nearly as graceful, they are just as resilient as cats. Mine actually fight over who gets to sleep in the RAFTERS not who sleeps where on the roosts - so it's an 8 foot drop! Everyones survived and they seem to have it worked out at the moment.The first time I saw it happen I was sitting on the porch and jumped up to go check on them...and by the time I got there (ten feet away) The two that wanted to be up there were each on one rafter already! (it's my bantam roo and one EE hen and the hen was the one that got pushed!) Of course my husband was laughing at me saying "See, they scramble their own eggs baby!" so I just let them do what chickens do now...

 

[TrystInn]

My new chickens are roosting 15 feet up in the Grand Firs instead of their cute little coop. I keep going out there earlier and earlier trying to get them tucked inside the coop, but I swear the silly things get up that tree the minute they hear me open the back door! Thankfully, it hasn't been too cold, but it's driving me nuts!

I've even taken to leaving the coop door open all day to encourage them to go inside. No luck at all!

 

[patandchickens]

Large chickens (e.g. Orpingtons) sometimes hurt their legs plummeting down from a high roost like that. Since I see you have some, it would be reasonable caution to block off the roosters and give them only a 3-4' high roost to use. OTOH many people do have orps (especially hatchery orps, which are often not especially large) roosting on high roosts for years and don't happen to have a problem, so it's up to your judgement and philosophy.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[The Sheriff]

Mine like the top spot too. We found Mama and her babies up there a couple of nights ago. It is six feet up with a poop board under it. Crazy!