Put roosts on same level or stagger

[Weasleymum]

Regarding roost height... my two Marans, if not locked in their coop at night, prefer to roost on a tree branch in the hedgerow. It's 8 FEET off the ground! And they're big birds, not flighty little things. They hop up to the top edge of the compost bin (36" high), then just sort of... flap up there. ("fly" is too elegant a word for what they do.)

 

[chipahoy4]

Thanks for all the great advice, I guess I will put one roost pole about 2 and a half feet or so.

 

[inaun]

Should I make the roosts all at the same height to forgo any pecking order problems, or should I stagger the heights of a couple roosts and let them figure it out. Just wondered if they were all at the same height would it cause less problems between them.
Thanks for any help

I know this is old, but since I'm getting ready to build new roosts ran across and decided to share my experience for those who come later.

When we only had a few chickens, didn't really matter. They all sat together and got along fine. Now we have around 50 chickens. Some time back I decided to move my roosts all to the same level, thinking it would be better. Nope -- chickens lower on the pecking order were not allowed on any of the roosts. There is plenty of room, but about 30% will be run off if they attempt to find a spot. Had to put up some make shift roosts down lower for the outcasts.