Roost height

[3KillerBs]

Haha - I think it’s so cute when, after 6 months to a year, my birds manage to get the strings off of a straw bale

I wish mine would last even 6 days.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I wish mine would last even 6 days.

What’s with your silly birds? Is that where your profile name comes into play? They don’t seem to ever do what we want or expect! Maybe the bales I get are more tightly bundled? I get them from a local lumber yard, but the ones from the feed store hold up to my little dinosaurs too.

 

[3KillerBs]

What’s with your silly birds? Is that where your profile name comes into play? They don’t seem to ever do what we want or expect! Maybe the bales I get are more tightly bundled? I get them from a local lumber yard, but the ones from the feed store hold up to my little dinosaurs too.

I don't know.

I had straw bales last OK when I only had 5 birds, but with a flock between 20-40 (depending on time of year), the bales go down fast as the birds try to get to any remaining wheat berries.

 

[SituationalLefty]

Not all bales are created equal . Commercial and high-end balers use very tight plastic ribbon (rather than the blue or orange baling twine) that holds the bale together until those ribbons are cut, and these bales are much more dense. Your homemade straw or hay bale (the ones we amateurs make at the farm) are much looser and come apart much more quickly.

The commercial bales are very dense and heavy - 70 lbs. here. The less dense ones about 35.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Not all bales are created equal . Commercial and high-end balers use very tight plastic ribbon (rather than the blue or orange baling twine) that holds the bale together until those ribbons are cut, and these bales are much more dense. Your homemade straw or hay bale (the ones we amateurs make at the farm) are much looser and come apart much more quickly.

The commercial bales are very dense and heavy - 70 lbs. here. The less dense ones about 35.

That must be what our difference is! I have 27 chickens and they just got a bale apart today. It lasted a year and then they had a field day for the entire day.

 

[Quavo]

I recommend putting it high enough it feels like a roost but low enough it doesn't feel like it's just the ground

 

[CKfarm22]

. But it's important to remember that most chickens fly at roughly a 45-degree angle and need about as much horizontal clearing as the roost is high in order to get up and down effectively.

I’m asking this because i’m trying to figure out if i need a ramp or not.

My roost is about 30 in off the ground, by what you said, they need 30 in horizontally in order to fly down? Is that correct?

 

[3KillerBs]

I’m asking this because i’m trying to figure out if i need a ramp or not.

My roost is about 30 in off the ground, by what you said, they need 30 in horizontally in order to fly down? Is that correct?

Yes. With room to land.

Different birds will differ a bit -- my California Whites fly like helicopters -- but on average that's about right.

 

[arazla]

I'd like to piggy bank on this question. I'm a newbie and I put both the nesting boxes and roosts up high. Probably about 3.5 feet. I might get two small goats in the near future and they would probably need to share the shed, at least at first. My thinking was to keep things as much out of reach as possible in case goats want to eat the chicken bedding. I saw someone else's set-up who has lots of goats and various poultry and noticed some roosts near the ceiling of one barn where their chickens seemed to be lazily enjoying themselves near a hanging heat source in the winter. But now I've realized this might not work at all in my situation. They had lots of sheds and barns and so far I have one. My newly built shed is only 6x8. I have EIGHT 10.5 week-old easter eggers. So far they don't seem to have any interest in exploring the roosts or nesting boxes, but they are also still adjusting. I do have a climbing ladder, but am worried now that everything too high and could cause injury. Appreciate any thoughts on what easter eggers might prefer and what's the maximum height for safety.

 

[aart]

My newly built shed is only 6x8. I have EIGHT 10.5 week-old easter eggers. So far they don't seem to have any interest in exploring the roosts or nesting boxes, but they are also still adjusting.

How long have they been in there?
Pics of roosts and nests would help here.

I might get two small goats in the near future and they would probably need to share the shed, at least at first.

I would not keep the goat in that sized shed with the 8 birds, get your goat housing set up before you get the goats.
Goats might eat hay bedding, but they can also gorge on chicken feed(making them very sick).