Leghorns roost bar height.

[BLACKWATER7x62]

Hey guys new to Chickens here, I have 9 white leghorn chicks, how high does the roosting bar need to be? I heard if the are to high it's really bad with heavy chickens of course. But I know leghorns are lighter. My coop is like 8-10 ft high, and it like a 8x10 size wise and does have a loft.

 

[NatJ]

I would put the roosting bar high enough that they can walk underneath (about 2 feet up), but low enough they do not hit their heads on the ceiling (about 2 feet below the ceiling.)

As a general guideline, however high the roost is, it should be at least that far from one wall, so the chickens can fly down at an angle. So for the 8 foot dimension of your coop: if the roost is in the middle of the coop, it would be 4 feet from each wall, and should not be more than 4 feet high. If the roost is 6 feet from one wall and 2 feet from the other wall, it can be up to 6 feet high.

Chickens prefer to sleep as high as possible. So it is good to put the roost higher than the nests. Since your coop has a loft, if that is the highest place, they will probably prefer to sleep there. If the roost is higher than the loft they would prefer the roost.

Do think about how the roost height will work for you. Some people hate to trip over a knee-high roost, other people hate reaching overhead to catch chickens that are sitting on a high roost.

Leghorns do not need their roost to be high, and a low roost will not do them any harm, but they do seem to enjoy having it high and they can generally fly well enough that a high roost is not a problem. So you can probably just put it wherever seems good to you, without worrying about this particular breed having special needs.

 

[aart]

Block off the loft unless you want them to get up there.
Not sure what the purpose of the loft is, pics might help here @BLACKWATER7x62 .
Roosts only need to be higher than the nests, so they don't sleep in the nests. Examining birds is easier off the roost at night, so roosts low enough for you to easily reach is the best bet, IMO.

Here's some tips about....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

 

[perkolator]

All my chickens sleep in their secured attached run, instead of inside the actual coop, been like that for years. I have roost bars in the run that's 8ft tall on the high side, most of roosts are 5-6ft off the ground.
We have 3 leghorns and those are the ones I regularly see jump straight up to the roosts from the ground, instead of climbing up like everyone else (I think to bypass the traffic and get straight to the "good spots"). I've had some larger breed chickens like bielefelder, jersey giant and brahma - all of them were fine getting up/down from high roosts, many will just jump straight to the ground never seen issues with broken toes/legs or bumblefoot, etc (the ground is over 12" depth, deep dry bedding)