Proper height of roost?

[goldeneggtees]

Hi, we have 8 buff orpington hens. Their original roost was a little too close to the wall so we've moved it away from it by a few inches. Now it looks too high to me. They can get on it fine due to a lower roost put there so they can get up there in steps so to speak, but it just seems too hard to get down. They refuse to roost on the lower roost.

I don't want anyone hurting their legs or worse when flying down. Their coop has a tall ceiling, around 7 feet so that's not the issue. So what's the correct, optimal height?

Oh, forgot to add they have a ladder from the floor to the highest roost but only one smart hen uses it.

 

[gkeesling]

I've heard the correct height is one that's higher than the nest boxes. The chickens will roost at the highest point they can get to. I have roosts at 4 ft., 5 ft, and then there are the rafters to the coop that are more like 9 feet. half of my flock of 20 will go to the coop rafters. The hens that are lower on the pecking order get the lower roosting places.

 

[tellynpeep]

I just redid the inside of one of my coops. I put roost higher than the nestboxes, then had to make steps up to it (stacked milk crates) so my little frizzle could get up there too! If you have multi-level roosts, make sure they are far enough apart that the lower ones don't get pooped on!

 

[patandchickens]

Definitely put them "distinctly higher than" the nestboxes.

For big-bodied chickens like Orps (or in my case, big Sussexes) it can be a good idea to have the roosts not too high, like not more than 3-4' up, max, so they do not hurt themselves coming down. If you have a ladder style setup this is not as much of an issue, but just with a single level of roost, they may tend to plummet moreso than fly

and you don't want anyone injuring their legs or feet. Although, that said, certainly some people have large chcikens roosting high up for years with no injuries.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[goldeneggtees]

Thanks Pat, their new roost is at my level right now, I'm about 5'6" so I do believe it's too high. Hubby is not going to be happy when I ask him to lower them! But I don't want them getting hurt.

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