How High Should A Chicken Roost Be? The Definitive Guide
Chickens prefer to sleep on elevated perches rather than on the ground. This behavior is instinctual and provides several important benefits. But how high should chicken perches be? What is the optimal roost height for backyard chickens? In this definitive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about proper chicken roost height.
Why Do Chickens Roost?
Chickens are light sleepers and prefer to roost on branches or other elevated perches at night. Here are some of the main reasons chickens exhibit roosting behavior:
Safety from predators – Roosting off the ground helps protect chickens from foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and other ground predators that may try to sneak into the coop.
Hygiene – Perching minimizes contact with droppings, parasites, and other disease-causing organisms that accumulate on the floor of the coop
Social hierarchy – Dominant hens claim the highest perches, enforcing the pecking order Lower ranked chickens get the less desirable lower roosts.
Comfort – Chickens feel more secure on an elevated perch with their feet gripping the roost. They also fluff their feathers to retain heat.
Instinct – Wild junglefowl ancestors of domestic chickens slept in trees to avoid predators. The roosting instinct remains strong.
Keeping chickens off the floor at night provides health, safety, social, and comfort benefits aligned with their natural behavior as birds. But what is the optimal roost height to achieve these goals?
Ideal Chicken Roost Height
Most experts recommend chicken perches be placed:
- 12-36 inches off the floor
- At least 18-24 inches from the ceiling
A roost height of 18-24 inches is suitable for many standard-sized backyard chicken breeds. Bantams and lighter birds may prefer roosts on the higher end of the range. Larger or heavier chickens may be more comfortable nearer to 12 inches.
Here are some more chicken roost height considerations:
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Roosts should be 6 inches or more from the wall so droppings fall to the floor or collection system.
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Allow 8-10 inches of perch space per average sized chicken.
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Place roosts at least 12 inches above nest boxes to discourage sleeping in nests.
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Roosts over 4 feet high should have a roosting ladder for easy access.
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Staggered perch levels create more spaces and reduce droppings on chickens below.
The perfect roosting height depends on your coop design, chicken breed, and flock size. Observe where your chickens prefer to perch to optimize their roost placement.
Roost Height For Different Chicken Breeds
Light breeds like Leghorns tend to prefer higher perches. Heavy breeds such as Orpingtons and Brahmas feel more secure nearer the ground. Here are some roost height recommendations based on chicken breed:
- Bantams, 12-18 inches
- Light breeds, 18-36 inches
- Medium breeds, 18-24 inches
- Heavy breeds, 12-18 inches
- Broody hens, low roosts near nests
- Roosters, the highest perch
These are general guidelines only. Individual preferences will vary among your chickens. Place roosts on blocks or platforms to adjust the height to meet your flock’s needs.
Ladder Roosts For High Perches
For very high perches over 3 feet, provide a roosting ladder to make access easier and prevent injuries. Ladder roosts have staggered perches at graduated heights like a staircase.
Leave 10-12 inches between ladder rungs. This allows droppings to fall to the floor rather than onto chickens on lower perches. Adding a board below the ladder will further protect chickens and make cleaning easier.
Ladder roosts with access perches just 12 inches off the floor are also helpful for senior chickens that have difficulty flying and prefer low roosting spots.
Roost Placement Tips
Proper roost placement is just as important as height. Here are some tips for positioning your chicken perches:
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Place roosts over a droppings board or litter area for easy cleaning.
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Allow ample ventilation around perches to prevent buildup of ammonia fumes.
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Make sure roosts are fully accessible and do not block doors or access holes.
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Avoid placing perches directly over feeders or water lines.
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Check for sharp edges, splinters, and abrasive surfaces and sand smooth.
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Sprinkle diatomaceous earth or wood ash around crevices near roosts to deter mites.
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Consider removable roosts for easier cleaning and treatment of infestations.
With a little observation of your flock and trial and error, you can create an ideally elevated roosting area that keeps your chickens happy, healthy, and doing what chickens do best – roosting! Just remember to provide each hen 8-10 inches of perching space at a height of 18-24 inches for most backyard flocks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chicken Roost Height
Here are answers to some common questions about optimal roosting height and placement for backyard chickens:
How high should roosts be for bantam chickens?
Bantams can comfortably roost 12-18 inches off the floor. They can fly to higher perches but prefer lower roosts they can easily hop onto.
Should large chicken breeds have lower roosts?
Yes, heavier chicken breeds like Orpingtons and Brahmas do best on perches 12-18 inches off the floor to prevent injuries from jumping down.
Do different chicken breeds prefer different roost heights?
As a general rule, lighter breeds prefer higher roosts and heavier breeds prefer lower perches. But individual preferences will vary in a flock.
Can chickens get bumblefoot from roosts that are too high?
Bumblefoot is sometimes caused by repeated impact on the feet from jumping off excessively high perches. Lower roosts reduce this risk.
Should roosts be higher than nest boxes?
Absolutely. Roosts at least 12 inches above nest boxes help prevent sleeping in nests and soiled bedding.
How close can roosts be to each other?
Allow 8-12 inches between roosts so chickens can comfortably grip the perches without crowding.
Can chickens roost on branches?
Yes, properly secured branches make great natural roosts. Ensure they are wide enough in diameter and free of sharp stubs.
The optimal roosting height for a backyard flock is typically between 18-24 inches off the ground. This allows chickens to exhibit natural perching behavior and provides health, safety, social, and comfort benefits. Make sure to observe your own chickens and experiment with perch height and placement to create a roosting area customized to your flock. Happy roosting!
5 reasons you may need a taller chicken coop
If you don’t have a large run, you’ll definitely want to build a larger coop. I would suggest your coop be larger all around, including the height.
Your chickens will likely be more aggressive with each other if they don’t have a lot of room. You’ll want to give them as much space in the coop as possible. To learn exactly how much space your chickens will need, check out my article, How big should your chicken coop be?
However, if you can only give your chickens a very small run, consider that chickens may not be right for you at this time. These birds need a lot of room to thrive.
The coop pictured above is large enough for 5-6 hens (and only 6 if they got along well and have a large run). You will need to build a larger coop if you have any more chickens.
The reason a taller coop may come in handy is because once you increase the floor space of your coop beyond about 4 feet x 4 feet, it becomes more difficult to clean the coop, collect eggs, and catch chickens for health checks. You will need to climb into the coop and crawl around.
This is why I recommend building a walk-in coop if you plan on having more chickens. You will have such an easier time cleaning it. No stooping or crawling around, hurting your back or knees.
Also, if you have a larger coop, you may have room to stack nesting boxes, thereby giving your chickens more floor space. Just make sure your roosting bars are higher than the nesting boxes.
My chickens are standard-size chickens and the measurements I gave above work well for them. However, if you have larger (and, therefore, taller) birds, like Brahmas or Orpingtons, you will want to make your coop taller too in order to protect them from drafts. Consider adding at least 6 inches (or even better, 1 foot) to the walls.
Roosters are larger than hens, and some may be tall enough that they’ll feel a draft. I do keep a rooster in the coop pictured above, and he does fine, but he has a Sweeter Heater hanging above him to help keep his comb warm in the winter.
One last thing, DO NOT keep multiple roosters in a small coop. The coop pictured above is way too small for more than one rooster (unless you have no hens and the roosters get along well). If you have hens and you keep more than one rooster in a small coop, you will likely have dead roosters (and injured hens if they get in the crossfire).
The subordinate roosters will not have enough space to keep away from the dominant roosters’ hens, and they will not have enough space to escape attacks from more dominant roosters.
For help on figuring out how much space your coop should have in these circumstances, check out my article, How big should your chicken coop be?
In the coop pictured above, I do not use a droppings tray. This is because only a few chickens live in this coop and I just scoop their droppings out of the sand every day with a kitty litter scooper. I do use trays in my larger coops (and I love them).
If you are using a droppings tray or board to collect the droppings underneath the roosting bars, it will take up space under the bars. This means your chickens will not have enough room to use the floor space under the roosts if the coop is only 3.5 feet tall.
Measure how much room your droppings trays will take up and then add that much height to the roosting bars. Then you’ll need to also increase the height of the walls by the same amount in order to get the ventilation high enough above the chickens’ heads.
In the example I’ve shown here, the coop has about 4 inches of sand bedding.
Some chicken keepers, however, like to use a very thick layer of bedding in their coops. Those who use the deep litter method, may have as much as 12-18 inches of bedding. If this is the case for you, you’ll need higher roosting bars, so that the chickens can use the space underneath. Again, you’ll therefore need higher walls to make sure the ventilation is high enough above the chickens to avoid drafts.
For more on chicken coop bedding, check out these articles:
Where to find a tall enough chicken coop for 5-6 Chickens
If you want a chicken coop similar to the one that I’ve featured in this article, you will probably not be able to find a new one for sale easily. The chicken coops sold on Amazon or at Walmart are too small and poorly made. Most of the coops sold at farm supply stores aren’t great either.
For example, the little wooden chicken coop in the photo below (pictured to the right of the red coop) is one you can buy from Amazon, supposedly large enough for several chickens. The person I bought it from used it for 7 hens—poor ladies!
Think about it for a minute—the red coop above (the same one as in my earlier photos) is only big enough for 5-6 chickens. How many hens could you humanely put in the little cheap coop? Not 7. Not 5. Maybe 1. I’d argue 0.
There is no place to roost in these cheap coops, ventilation is inadequate, and the coops aren’t weather- or predator-proof. For more about these coops, see my article Why you should NEVER buy a chicken coop from Amazon or Walmart.
The one place I’ve found that makes super high-quality chicken coops delivered to your door (and placed in your yard, if you opt for it) is Rita Marie’s Chicken Coops. I purchased my newest coop from this company and I love it—you can see my review here.
Otherwise, you may need to build your own. You could also try to buy a high-quality used coop that somebody else built themselves—check out your local Craigslist. I’ve found coops this way before with mixed results.
Top 5 Chicken Roost Mistakes To Avoid! (#5 May Surprise You!)
FAQ
How high is too high for a chicken perch?
- Chicken perches should be about 1.5 to 4 feet off the floor.
- If possible, put chicken perches above (or away from) your laying boxes so the chickens are not inclined to roost in the nesting boxes (especially if you use nesting herbs to make their boxes more inviting…
What is the 90/10 rule for chickens?
The “90/10 rule” for chickens refers to a feeding guideline that recommends 90% of a chicken’s daily diet should be a complete feed, while the remaining 10% can be treats.
How high should a perch be?
Perches should be higher than nest boxes in the coop. Generally, the lower perch is 18 inches off the ground and the highest is no more than 4 feet.
Should chicken roost be higher than nesting box?
Roosts should always be higher than the nest boxes. Chickens like to sleep as high up as possible- if the nest boxes are higher than the roost, they will sleep in or on the nest boxes.