Is there such a thing as "too high of a roost"?

[JeninMN]

Hi everyone,

Just making sure here...our highest roost is about 6.5 to 7 ft off of the ground...is there such a thing as too high of a roost? The roost ladder does go up to that level..so they have a way up and a way down...

Also, our roost ladder pieces are spaced out 15 inches between each step...2x4's flat....they aren't over excited about it yet but we did get one girl to take a step from the bottom step to the next one up...will they get used to this??? Are they too far apart?

They will learn once they get up how to get back down ok won't they? I really would hate to have them jump all the way down and get hurt!!!! I am maybe just being over protective?!?

Thanks!! Jen in MN

 

[chickflick]

What kind of breeds do you have? Heavy? If they are heavy breed chickens, they might hurt their feet jumping down....have a few inches of shavings on the floor so they have some thing soft to land on. They'll learn to use the ladder. I also have a ladder leading to the first roost. I have mine spaced out at 3ft, 4ft, and 5ft. They all want to use the highest roost, tho. Also, make sure they do have enough room to jump down, so they don't fly into a wall, etc. If you have the roost facing too close to a opposite wall, they won't be able to jump down. Learned that with my first coop!

 

[shangri-lafarms]

My RIR's roost on an open edge of my pole barn.....I will be closing it in with hardware cloth this weekend for predator protection...It's fairly high up about 5 feet....I'm sure as they get heavier they may not be able to reach it??? I am placing roosts in the coop for them this week so they can hopefully get used to them for the closing in of the coop this weekend....

 

[JeninMN]

We have Buff Orp's...our coop is like 8 ft wide by 14 feet long...something like that...hubby made sure it was big enough

The ladder goes to each level of roosts in there...our hope was that they would figure out that they can get up and down to each roost by using the ladder...all roosts are higher than the nesting boxes...

Does it take a few days for them to get used to the roosts before we'll see them up there? I put them up there and then took them down...I didn't want to leave them up there as I figure if they learn how to get up there, they will learn to get down too

 

[shangri-lafarms]

Quote:
My pole barn/coop is also large, my hubby built it...it's 8x15 feet that is...How many do you have in yours???Just wondering

 

[JeninMN]

We have 29 in there...I think we are going to add another coop same size across the barn next year for babies

How many do you have in yours?

 

[AllChookUp]

Jen - I have Buff Orps too and Wyandottes. My roost goes up to about 6 feet. I use the deep litter method, so I'm not worried about the roost being too high.

 

[Chirpy]

I have multiple roosts each at a different level. I have a ramp and ladder system also so they can get up to all the levels by walking or jump/flying. My highest roost is about 8 feet off the ground and guess where everybody wants to roost every night?? Yup .. the 8 ft. roost! They all try to cram up there (and actually fit) except for my Silkie Roo who likes to be either on the ground or the lowest roost. My Silkie pullet, however, is always right up there with the rest on the 8 ft. roost... she's less than half the size of everybody else in the coop too.

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

our highest is about 6 foot and one chicken still goes higher (roosts on the arms that hold the fan to the ceiling)
And the advice about area so they dont fly into the wall is good to....we learned the hard way...one of our chickens flew into the wall and scalped herself https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=73097&p=1

we thought our coop was big enough...but she learned and now she never roosts very high.
I would just advise that if you have high roosts make sure there is a way to climb down even if they wont use that option. most of ours will climb up and fly down and our roosts are built like ladders kind of.

 

[chickflick]

It's natural for them to be scared of the new roosts. They will start to use it very soon. They are so skittish of new things. Don't worry, they'll be up there in no time!