Roost and nest placement ??

[JanetR]

Good morning, all! I'm getting ready for a full day of coop construction. Can someone tell me- how far from the ceiling should the upper roost be? I want to make sure there's enough head room. And should the nest boxes be in the darkest part of the coop? I was planning to put them next to the window... Bad idea?
Thanks!

 

[jackson8]

Hello your plan sounds good, I have put my roosting perch approx 15 inches below the top of the roof the chickens seem happy there.

Yes the darker the better for the laying boxes I have found, I think they feel more safe in that type of laying box.

Good luck building.

 

[bartchick]

If you have any very large breed birds it is good to provide a lower perch for them as well, only a couple feet off the floor. Our massive Light Brahma used to hurt his legs getting down from the higher perchs/roosts. He would limp around for days, but that all got better after he was able to roost closer to the floor.

 

[Katydid2011]

I wouldn't put nesting boxes next to a window. My hens like their boxes about 18" off the ground and in the darkest, quietest area of the coop. The ceiling on our main coop is 12' high and our highest perch is 6' up. That's where all of our hens perch.

We also have a small coop with a ceiling that's about 6' high and the preferred roost is about 14" below that.

 

[Judy]

They like the roost next to the window, to sit and look out. This won't work in winter if your window is your ventilation, though.

 

[JanetR]

Thanks for all your advice. I got most of the framing done today ( I ran out of screws

) Well, tomorrow's another day.

 

[Lucysmom002]

We just built a 12 x 24 fully enclosed coop for our chickens. We are also trying to figure out where to put the boxes and roosts for them. We have 3 large windows in there that do not open. We put a window in there that does open for cross breeze along with a large door and a sliding door for the birds. We want to section off a part for chicks or whatever we may need it for.
We got a hanging feeder too.

 

[karlamaria]

My nest boxes are out side the coop, and below a window, it's dark and about 2 feet off the ground. We put the nest boxes like this so we could gather eggs in the winter, or any time with having to go inside the coop. Our roosting ladder has 2 highest, 1 foot and 3 feet off the ground. We plan to put a new roost when they get older and there wings grow out for another foot higher or so,so they can look out there windows