Nesting Boxes - Height question

[huntsman]

My girls were roosting in their nesting boxes which have been removed and which will be replaced in a week or so. (no chooks are laying as yet)

Are the nesting boxes usually mounted higher than the roosts or is their no importance attached to height?

They will be on the opposite side of the coop from the roosting bars...

Thanks!

 

[Kim_1970]

Roosts are usually higher than the nesting boxes to encourage them to sleep up on the roost and not in the nesting box

 

[teach1rusl]

You'll definitely want your roosts higher, as Kim said. Chicken instinct says that higher is safer...so they prefer the higher area. And since they're across the coop from each other, I'd make the roosts a good foot higher myself so that it's easy to differentiate. If your nest boxes are raised off the floor so as to not take up floor space, then you'll want a 2x2 perch in front of them so that the girls have some easy way of getting to the nest boxes (when you put them back in).

 

[huntsman]

Thanks for the replies...

The one roost is about 12" off the floor and the other 24", so I guess that pretty much limits me to floor level nesting boxes, right?

 

[Chicken0Boy]

I dont mean to get away from topic, but I want to ask a question. What is the highest a nest box can be for the chickens I am getting (look at my sig)? Also what about the roost height? I already have my nest boxes made, and they are like 35"-40" off the ground (Iforgot the hieght lol). Would I neeed a ramp?

 

[Yukonchick]

I,m not an expert chickens but looking at the type of birds they are. If they were a living in the wild, like their relatives partridge and grouse they would probably prefer a nest close to the ground. We're building a chicken house now and because of my bad back, I think building the nests about 2 ft off the floor would be a good compromise. The perchs will be against the other wall and will go right to the ceiling as chickens like to feel safe sleeping in a high place. Grouse sleep at high heights too but hide their eggs on the ground, I believe.

 

[suzeqf]

I've got 2 roost poles that are about 5 ft tall and almost 6 ft tall and my nest boxes are at 2 different hieghts, I have 2 that the bottom of the boxes are about waist high(i'm 5'4) and I have a narrow table under them so that's what they jump up on to get into the nest boxes and inmy henpen(young girls and very shy hens) I have a box that the bottom is about milk crate high with a milk crate in front of it so they can have something to stand on to get into the box and I also have a old cat litter box on the floor of the hen pen coop that is used daily

 

[Coop de Grille]

I just set my roosts and next boxes up today. My chicks are 16 weeks old and not laying yet, hopefully soon! The one roost is on the right side, on the wire wall. There are six nest boxes on the back wall of the coop, will they use them if they are on the floor? I'm trying to use what I have on hand. There is another roost a bit higher on the other side of the wire wall.

I have 27 pullets, how many more nest boxes do I need? Do they need to be close together or can I put another set of nest boxes on the other side of the coop? (The bottom middle of the wire wall is open, they have access to both sides of the coop).

 

[dirtbagchickens]

Do the roost have to be poles or 2x2 like perches? what if my coop has shelves and nest like areas up in the rafters? will these serve as roost only or will the birds end up laying eggs there too?

I am upgrading an old coop. not sure how it was used before, but there were 38 nest boxes in a 4x8x10h room. there were even nest boxes built between the rafters. I am only having 6 or so birds. and will only have one four nest box, should I remove the higher shelves (8 to 12in deep) and install perch style roost?