We are going to build a step up to the perch this afternoon. The perch is 4 feet high, which is too high, and could cause bumblefoot.
I measured and the top of the nesting box is 17" which is about perfect for roosting, but only 2 of them like to roost there. I have 5 chickens total. The rooster and the 2 white girls like to be up high at night. But if we make a nice wide platform at 17" from which they can fly up to the 4' roost, that will be better, requiring them to jump only 31" either way. I am also going to put a whole bunch of pine shavings down, so they have deep litter to jump into to cushion their jump.
Whether they'll actually use the step to get to their perch, I don't know, but it's worth a try, and some of them could perch on the new step at night, if they wanted.
I am happy to report Buttery did lay her egg fine today. She is the one who had the trouble ascending her perch last night. It's not nearly as big as some of her other eggs, but at least it wasn't broken and came out okay. Buttery is flighty, so it would be very difficult to catch her at night to help her up to her perch or to know the time she was going to fly up to it so I could be there to catch her. They go to bed at different times at night and I'm not always home to help them.