Is it better to have roosts high up or down low?

[NHchicks]

My hens always gravitated to the highest roosts, so whenever I added a roost (I use tree limbs), I'd put them high in the coop. But it seems awkward for them getting down from the roosts - they climb from one roost to another to get up, but on the way down they just jump. If I put the roosts lower, will they be happy, or will they be trying to get into the rafters? I'm redoing my coop, so now would be a good time to re-engineer the roost situation.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
If it were I, I'd make my nest boxes eighteen inches higher than the floor. Then I'd make my roost boards two or three feet off the floor. That's especially true if you have a large heavy breed because they can damage their feet/legs if they have to jump down more than two feet.

ETA Block off the rafters.

 

[Lollipop]

Rule of thumb, always set the roost high enough so that the bird must flap at least once to soften the landing. They will always want to roost high, but it`s not neccessary.......Pop

 

[NHchicks]

Quote:
If it were I, I'd make my nest boxes eighteen inches higher than the floor. Then I'd make my roost boards two or three feet off the floor. That's especially true if you have a large heavy breed because they can damage their feet/legs if they have to jump down more than two feet.

ETA Block off the rafters.

So don't put the nest boxes at floor level then? I was going to do that. I should raise them?

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
If it were I, I'd make my nest boxes eighteen inches higher than the floor. Then I'd make my roost boards two or three feet off the floor. That's especially true if you have a large heavy breed because they can damage their feet/legs if they have to jump down more than two feet.

ETA Block off the rafters.

So don't put the nest boxes at floor level then? I was going to do that. I should raise them?

There's nothing wrong with their being on the floor if your coop is especially large, but if you need the floor space, raise them high enough so that the chickens can walk under them.

 

[kateseidel]

I have 15 hens, 8 of them good sized Buff Orpingtons, and an 8x12 coop. No matter where my roosts were/are, they try to get in the rafters. So I now have 4' long roosts at 2', 3', and 4', and then an 8' long roost at about 5.5'. They usually hop up from roost to roost, but fly down (the long roost is at one end of the 12' length of the coop. The smaller Wyandottes will occasionally still get into the rafters, but the BOs are now too large to fit comfortably, although sometimes they stuff themselves in.

And my nest boxes are about 12" off the ground, but the hens all prefer to lay their eggs on the ground UNDER the nest boxes where they have made their own little nest.

The long roost

The short roosts

The nest boxes

The nest under the nest boxes

 

[Kwartel]

You can block off your rafters with something as simple as chicken wire or any other lightweight netting or fencing. You can use either a stapler or a screwgun, screws and large washers to hold it up. My hens have just begun to lay and are about fifty-fifty on laying on the floor or laying up in the nest boxes.

 

[grandpa-j]

Is the 2x4 in front of tour box a roosting perch??
As u can see Im new at raising these feathered friends

 

[kateseidel]

It's actually a 1 x 2, not really a roost, just a place for them to hop up to and down from .

 

[33yardbirds]

When I had RIRs they would roost in the hedges at least 10' to 15'. The Rocks I have now all roost on the top pole in the coop that is 5' high.