Roost Questions

[MaryOos]

my nest boxes use to be up off the floor and the roost / poop table was above that.I found the chickens preferred to lay their eggs on the floor below the nest boxes. I also had problems with bumble foot and injured tendons. One bird actually got knocked off the roost while she was sleeping with her head under her wing (as I just happened to be watching on my chicken cam). She end up with an injured wing and an injured leg. Now my nest boxes as just dish pans with one side cut out, sitting directly on the floor, below my roost/ poop table which has also been lowered. Eggs are laid where they belong and no more leg injuries.
You definitely need to consider the size of your birds when determining roost height. Heavy breeds like wyandottes and orpingtons should definitely be kept low while small bantams who fly better and land lighter can be up higher

 

[DIMBY]

I have three staggered but for some reason they all want the highest one, which is about 3' above the floor. When I started with chickens, a friend who've had them for many years advised me to use 2x4s, but lay them flat so they are standing on the 4" wide surface - chickens are not like raptors, their claws don't curl around, their "feet" are flat so they like a flat surface for roosting. Do NOT use a metal poll, can get very cold in the winter time and that can't be pleasant for your girls. I took her advice and have never had some of the foot and claw issues I've read about here and in other forums. 10 years on now.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

One Month Old Chicks Move to the Big Coop

• Farmgirl1878
• Aug 18, 2018

I have four roost bars that are each four feet long. Two are over a poop deck that is two feet off the floor of the coop. Two are over a poop deck that is four feet off the floor. The girls (even my big brahma and cochin) and my BLRW cockerel just hop up on the lower deck, then hop up on the roosts until they get to their preferred height. Three of the higher-ranking hens like to sleep on the higher roost over the lower poop deck and everyone else sleeps on the highest two roosts (over the higher of the two poop deck). Several like to fly down in the morning, but most hop back down from roost to poop deck, to roost, to poop deck, to floor. Sounds convoluted, but it’s really not. And there isn’t a ramp anymore. No one used it so I took it out.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

This is why I added ramps and a wider nest perch....clumsy, stumbling, bumbling Light Brahmas.

That’s my favorite big girl! My Blue Cochin is a bit of a clutz too! But Big Blue always sleeps on the highest roost and David (my light Brahma) sleeps on the edge of the highest poop deck or on the highest roost bar!

 

[elmo]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but could I have a ramp leading up to the roost if it's too high, rather than having multiple lower roosts, or will they just sleep on the ramp then?

No such thing as a stupid question! Remember, though, that it will be your chickens who ultimately answer it. You might build the ramp but none of them want to use it for accessing the roost or for sleeping on it.

I used shelf supports to attach the roost to the wall of my big coop. Then I discovered the hens were fighting over who got to roost on the shelf supports. So I just added a bunch more shelf supports and now every hen gets one. I think they like being able to roost next to a solid surface like the wall of the coop.

 

[weezerfish]

How far are those roosts separated horizontally? That will determine if the ones on top poop on the lower ones. I don't see any poop on that lower one but the chickens take up more room so you may still not have enough horizontal separation.

You have a version of a ladder roost. People have successfully been using ladder roosts for a long long time. As you can see most chickens tend to want to roost as high as they can. There are always exceptions but what you show is typical. The ones higher in the pecking order get to sleep wherever they want, the ones lower have to take what's left.

Not sure what your overall coop looks like but it looks like you can raise that lower roost if you want to or if the future shows you need to. Since they need enough room on the roost to get up there my guess is that they are using that lower roost as an access point to the top roost so they can just hop from the lower to the higher instead of having to have enough room to spread their wings and fly directly to the top one.

Sorry for the slow response. The distance between the upper and lower roost varies a bit as one end is closer than the other (slightly angled away). It's probably 10 inches away on one end and about 14 inches at the other. I could scab in a support for the close end a little further away to provide a bit more separation, but they aren't using the lower bar on the distant end now so I wonder if it would get used. No harm in doing it I guess, so probably worth a shot. Thanks for the feedback and wisdom!

 

[Debby R]

I have some questions about roosts.

First off, I read this: "Height – Chicken roosting bars can be as low as a foot off the ground or as high as a foot or so from the ceiling. However, if you are going to make the roost much higher than two feet, staggering several roosts like stairs at varying heights will make it easier for the chickens to get up and down from the roost without injuring themselves. Bumblefoot (a staph infection of the foot and leg) is often caused by hard landings off a roost. Leave about 15″ headroom between the roosts to prevent those on the higher roosts from pooping on those roosting below them."

Now, I also read minimum 8" roosting space per chicken. I'm planning on 7 chickens, so that works out to a bare minimum of 4.66 ft roosting space. Let's say for arguments sake that I have one roosting bar 8 ft long. Clearly they should all be able to fit. Wouldn't having multiple roosts (some at lower elevations) just encourage them to fight/put lower ranking hens down on the lower bars? If I can fit them all on one bar would this be the best course of action?

Second question: I'm sure it depends on how high up the roost is, but how much space inside the coop do chickens need to fly/hop down from the roost? Is there any kind of formula? Like, if your roost is X feet in the air, Y feet of flying room is required?

Third question: Is 2 feet really the maximum height before you have to start helping them? The heaviest chicken I'm planning on having is probably going to be a BR hen (which should top out at 7.5 lbs)? I have heard that jumping down too far can cause an egg to break inside the chicken and cause problems...

I have 2 adult Barred Rocks now and raising some Welsummer pullets. My roost is 4 feet off the ground with a "poop board" a foot below that. They fly directly up to the roost and hop directly to the floor. Bumblefoot could happen if they landed on something like a nail but my flooring is wood covered with vinyl and then pine shavings. I don't think it can happen from pressure but from a skin break. I have about 5' on the one side where they fly up from and land but they don't use nearly that much space. I started with 6 hens and they all roosted on the same board which is about 4 1/2' -5' long.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sorry for the slow response. The distance between the upper and lower roost varies a bit as one end is closer than the other (slightly angled away). It's probably 10 inches away on one end and about 14 inches at the other. I could scab in a support for the close end a little further away to provide a bit more separation, but they aren't using the lower bar on the distant end now so I wonder if it would get used. No harm in doing it I guess, so probably worth a shot. Thanks for the feedback and wisdom!

The rule of thumb is 12" horizontal separation. Like you said it won't hurt but I don't know how much of a sense of urgency I'd have if they aren't using it to sleep on.

 

[Bea]

Minimum is when they can all step up to roost without opening wings at all,
if they need to fly up, more room is needed for the nightly RoostTimeRumble.
I too like roosts at one level, with poop boards for manure management and adds space to jostle for position.[/QUO

I have some questions about roosts.

First off, I read this: "Height – Chicken roosting bars can be as low as a foot off the ground or as high as a foot or so from the ceiling. However, if you are going to make the roost much higher than two feet, staggering several roosts like stairs at varying heights will make it easier for the chickens to get up and down from the roost without injuring themselves. Bumblefoot (a staph infection of the foot and leg) is often caused by hard landings off a roost. Leave about 15″ headroom between the roosts to prevent those on the higher roosts from pooping on those roosting below them."

Now, I also read minimum 8" roosting space per chicken. I'm planning on 7 chickens, so that works out to a bare minimum of 4.66 ft roosting space. Let's say for arguments sake that I have one roosting bar 8 ft long. Clearly they should all be able to fit. Wouldn't having multiple roosts (some at lower elevations) just encourage them to fight/put lower ranking hens down on the lower bars? If I can fit them all on one bar would this be the best course of action?

Second question: I'm sure it depends on how high up the roost is, but how much space inside the coop do chickens need to fly/hop down from the roost? Is there any kind of formula? Like, if your roost is X feet in the air, Y feet of flying room is required?

Third question: Is 2 feet really the maximum height before you have to start helping them? The heaviest chicken I'm planning on having is probably going to be a BR hen (which should top out at 7.5 lbs)? I have heard that jumping down too far can cause an egg to break inside the chicken and cause problems...

I

 

[Bea]

I have 45 hens in the hen house and they all roost seven feet off the ground. The roost bar, I use the word perch or perches, are limbs from fruit trees and about the s ame height give or take some inches. The girls still make a fuss even then. I have a ten foot 2x6 at an angle and about 6 3ft.horizontal perches for them to hop up. The roosting area is about half the size of house and the rest of space is feeding and laying space. The floor is natural soil, leaves, pine shavings etc.. I take the time when they are 3 months old to teach them how to go up the ladder. I help the older or heavy girls up or down. The house is so roomy with them up and they are out of my way so I can turn the soil. I have been pooped on about 4 times in,
9 years. I have Barred Rocks, Ameraucanas, Black sexlinks and Australo rps
The girls hop down the ladder o r fly or I help. It works for us