Roosting advice needed

[Judahrod]

So I need some advice, in the coop enclosure the chickens keep flying up to the top beam as seen in the picture to sleep at night. I know that they look for the highest point to sleep but in the morning they fly/fall down. I try to keep a good layer of soft hay/wood chips below but still I don’t think it’s good for they legs. Any advice for keeping them from roosting up there? I dont want to clip their wings since they are part time free rangers.

 

[bill3607]

I do not see anyway unless you make it so that they just cannot get back up to it. Maybe with some bird netting possibly. Then, provide them with a lower roost. Of course, they may just start roosting on top of the coop, then.

 

[MountainWoman73]

My chickens also roost as high as possible. The only way I know to stop them roosting somewhere undesirable is to block it off or provide a roost that they like more. I say just let them sleep there if they want to.

 

[Aunt Tat]

Make a tiered structure so they can get down safely or put a platform where they can jump a short way from the top, and then from there, to the floor.

It looks as if you have a HUGE area, so make it fun for them - something like this perhaps.

 

[Aunt Tat]

Personally, I'm hoping to find something like this for my flock. It'll probably get covered in poop...but it's just TOO cute!

 

[3KillerBs]

Hello, welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters when making suggestions.

You can block off the rafters with chicken wire to keep them from roosting up there.

 

[NatJ]

in the morning they fly/fall down. I try to keep a good layer of soft hay/wood chips below but still I don’t think it’s good for they legs. Any advice for keeping them from roosting up there? I dont want to clip their wings since they are part time free rangers.

Chickens do have wings, so it's not really the same as a human jumping down.

Have you watched them come down? Different chickens do it differently, and different setups in the pen encourage them to do it differently too.

Some chickens just drop straight down and land hard.
Some chickens flap their wings and fall more slowly.
Many chickens try to spread their wings and glide down. Those chickens often land gently, as long as they don't run into a wall first. (Pen size and roost location make a big difference here!)

I have seen plenty of chickens hop from one level to another going up, but I have not seen chickens use different levels to come down. They usually seem to come all the way down to the floor in one big flight or jump. But your chickens might be different. If you find that they are coming down in stages, like rafter to coop roof and then to floor, that would also help them land more gently.

 

[aart]

You can block off the rafters with chicken wire to keep them from roosting up there.

This^^

 

[Isadora]

This^^

That is what I would do

 

[neo71665]

Only way to keep them from getting up there is make it so they can't get up there. Personally I would just let em use it if they like it so much.