Nesting Box height

[cravenchx]

Do you think 24 inches
is too high?

I hope not

 

[SteveBaz]

Not at all as long as they have a good ladder to get up to them with. With older girls all you need is a perching bar to jump to and then they have no issues. Good luck,

 

[jeepguy982001]

not at all

 

[NorthestGeorgia14]

No not high they may like it .

 

[LiLRedCV]

Depending on the breed, you won't necessarily need a ladder at that height either.

But I'd most definitely recommend a nest roosting bar in front of the nests for any breed! This way they can jump up onto the bar, get situated (catching their balance), and then step into the nest with ease. If you have small chickens (i.e. Frizzles) a single ladder may be necessary to access the nest roosting bar and then they move along that to the nest they want. Once they're done, they can step out of the nest back onto the bar and then work their way over to the ladder.

 

[cravenchx]

Thanks for the insight. Yes, we do
have a perch bar in front of the boxes.
Starting thinking maybe I do need a
small ladder, so they wouldn't have to jump
up when ready to lay. I mean, I wouldn't have
wanted to jump anywhere when getting ready
to deliver my children.

 

[Tracydr]

Do chickens prefer ground or raised nest boxes? I've always had my nest boxes on the ground but my new coop has them on the ends of my roosts. This batch of Pullets is just getting ready to lay. I hate this box designe because they roost on the lip of the nest box and the box is always filthy.
Im adding some ground boxes today and hoping they will prefer these. Any other ideas to encourage using the ground boxes instead of the icky boxes that I don't like?

 

[Yukonchick]

Thats a good point about the dirty nesting boxes. We're building a chicken house and I've been wondering about the height of perches and nesting boxes. I think I'll put the perch slightly lower than the entrance to nest then that should keep the nests clean. All my other perches will go right up to the ceiling on the other wall.