Roost height

Yeah, that seems to make sense. I can't figure out how these people had goats and chickens together so successfully. Wish I'd paid more attention.

We only put the chicks in there overnight last night. I'll try to get some pics today. The run is not done yet, but I'm thinking the shed seems safer than our screened in porch where they were sleeping.
 
I can't figure out how these people had goats and chickens together so successfully. Wish I'd paid more attention
How well do you know these people?
Are they someone you visit often or was it just a one time visual?
Just because you see goats and chickens apparently living together in harmony,
doesn't mean there aren't issues.
 
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.
I’ve never had “high” roosts. I think mine is positioned at 30” off of the floor. I know some people do put their roosts up high though. Chickens are pretty smart for how dumb they can be, as long as you have a way for them to get down, i don’t think it would necessarily be a problem. But please, DO NOT put a heat lamp in the coop.
 
I agree, do not house goats in the same building, pretty much for Aart's reasons. Your challenge may be to deny the goats access to the chicken's coop, they can get through some pretty small openings.

I put both the nesting boxes and roosts up high. Probably about 3.5 feet.
That is not even close to high. One issue may be that chickens often like to sleep in the highest place available. You want your roosts noticeably higher than any other place you don't want them to sleep, like your nests. If the roosts are right next to the nests 6" higher can be noticeable. If across your 6' x 8' shed 12" should work. You don't want them sleeping in the nests when they start to lay, you don't want poopy eggs.

Some people really freak out at the thought of chickens sleeping above the nests. That does not bother me in the least as long as the nests are covered so the poop cannot go in the nests. I put a juvenile roost over my nests so the juveniles have a safe place to go when they are ready to roost and the adults won't let them onto the main roosts. I use the top of the nests as a droppings board when juveniles are up there. They are obviously higher than the nests. It works well for me.

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.
You don't have adults which can change their behavior. And yours are brooder-raised, which is different from broody-raised. When no adults are around my brooder-raised chicks tend to start sleeping on the roosts at around 10 to 12 weeks old. I have had a group start as early as 5 weeks, I've had some go past 12 weeks but 10 to 12 is a good average. I think what my coop and roosts looks like plays into that. Each of us are unique and certainly do not get the same results. You just put them in so give them time.

Many people on this forum seem to think something is wrong if they aren't immediately roosting. They will be out there setting them on the roosts to train them to sleep on the roosts. I take a different approach. When they are ready they will roost. Until then they sleep where they want to sleep. As long as it is not in my nests and is somewhere predator safe I don't care where they sleep. They are safe and it won't hurt them.

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.
Easter Eggers are not a breed, there are no standards for them. They can be any size though usually they are fairly small compared to other dual purpose breeds. You have obviously read about how a chicken can hurt it's legs or joints if it hops down from a high roost. That's possible but let's look at the rest of the story. Overly large birds like Brahma's, Jersey Giants, meat chickens, or chickens fed so they are large for their breed (like birds raised for show) can possibly hurt their legs like that. It is a real threat to them. But that is not much of a risk if they are not overly large for their breed. My birds are hatchery stock dual purpose like Orpington, Sussex, and Australorp, probably larger than your EE will be, depending on how you feed them. I do not feed them a high protein diet so they don't grow that large. They do need a decent clear flight and landing area but mine have no issues flying up and down from a 5' high roost. They could fly higher but I don't have my coop set up that way.

I've had several hens and even a full sized rooster once launch from that 5' high roost, fly about 8' forward, hang a hard left, fly out of my coop human door, and land in the run. Chickens are not great flyers but as long as they are not oversized they do OK. This is why for your probably not oversized EE's I don't consider 3-1/2 feet to be high at all.

I like my roosts to be high enough off of the coop floor so the chickens cannot reach the chickens perching up there. When I integrate new chickens I often find them on the roosts out of the reach of the others. It is a safe place they can go.

But there are reasons I don't want the roosts too high. One is the higher they are the more clear area they need to safely fly down. In New York you will want ventilation in the winter to help keep your coop dry but you don't want a cold wind hitting your chickens on the roosts. A good way to achieve this is to have your ventilation up high so any winds through the ventilation are above them when they are on the roosts. Also, a good time to check them for mites or to other issues or to work on them for other reasons is at night when they are on the roosts. They are easy to catch in the dark. So I want the roosts a convenient height for that.

We are always interested in seeing photos so we can see what you are working with. From what you have written I don't see anything to be concerned about, except those goats.
 
Here's a few. Just running out to meet my handyman now! Thinking whether to ask him to move the nesting boxes. They obviously need something to contain the hay still. I handmade the ladder, but not sure if that will work. So far, no interest.
They are using their little boxes on the floor that they're still used to.
 

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I’ve never had “high” roosts. I think mine is positioned at 30” off of the floor. I know some people do put their roosts up high though. Chickens are pretty smart for how dumb they can be, as long as you have a way for them to get down, i don’t think it would necessarily be a problem. But please, DO NOT put a heat lamp in the coop.
Mine is 36" off. Just measured it. But now that the handyman is here I think I'll go ahead and ask him to lower it a little. Not so great at doing these things myself. I definitely would not put a heating lamp. The one I mentioned seeing was some sort of professional farmer's hanging heat thing I think. What about brooders that also work as a heater? I was told the one we bought was safe for outside.
 
I agree, do not house goats in the same building, pretty much for Aart's reasons. Your challenge may be to deny the goats access to the chicken's coop, they can get through some pretty small openings.


That is not even close to high. One issue may be that chickens often like to sleep in the highest place available. You want your roosts noticeably higher than any other place you don't want them to sleep, like your nests. If the roosts are right next to the nests 6" higher can be noticeable. If across your 6' x 8' shed 12" should work. You don't want them sleeping in the nests when they start to lay, you don't want poopy eggs.

Some people really freak out at the thought of chickens sleeping above the nests. That does not bother me in the least as long as the nests are covered so the poop cannot go in the nests. I put a juvenile roost over my nests so the juveniles have a safe place to go when they are ready to roost and the adults won't let them onto the main roosts. I use the top of the nests as a droppings board when juveniles are up there. They are obviously higher than the nests. It works well for me.


You don't have adults which can change their behavior. And yours are brooder-raised, which is different from broody-raised. When no adults are around my brooder-raised chicks tend to start sleeping on the roosts at around 10 to 12 weeks old. I have had a group start as early as 5 weeks, I've had some go past 12 weeks but 10 to 12 is a good average. I think what my coop and roosts looks like plays into that. Each of us are unique and certainly do not get the same results. You just put them in so give them time.

Many people on this forum seem to think something is wrong if they aren't immediately roosting. They will be out there setting them on the roosts to train them to sleep on the roosts. I take a different approach. When they are ready they will roost. Until then they sleep where they want to sleep. As long as it is not in my nests and is somewhere predator safe I don't care where they sleep. They are safe and it won't hurt them.


Easter Eggers are not a breed, there are no standards for them. They can be any size though usually they are fairly small compared to other dual purpose breeds. You have obviously read about how a chicken can hurt it's legs or joints if it hops down from a high roost. That's possible but let's look at the rest of the story. Overly large birds like Brahma's, Jersey Giants, meat chickens, or chickens fed so they are large for their breed (like birds raised for show) can possibly hurt their legs like that. It is a real threat to them. But that is not much of a risk if they are not overly large for their breed. My birds are hatchery stock dual purpose like Orpington, Sussex, and Australorp, probably larger than your EE will be, depending on how you feed them. I do not feed them a high protein diet so they don't grow that large. They do need a decent clear flight and landing area but mine have no issues flying up and down from a 5' high roost. They could fly higher but I don't have my coop set up that way.

I've had several hens and even a full sized rooster once launch from that 5' high roost, fly about 8' forward, hang a hard left, fly out of my coop human door, and land in the run. Chickens are not great flyers but as long as they are not oversized they do OK. This is why for your probably not oversized EE's I don't consider 3-1/2 feet to be high at all.

I like my roosts to be high enough off of the coop floor so the chickens cannot reach the chickens perching up there. When I integrate new chickens I often find them on the roosts out of the reach of the others. It is a safe place they can go.

But there are reasons I don't want the roosts too high. One is the higher they are the more clear area they need to safely fly down. In New York you will want ventilation in the winter to help keep your coop dry but you don't want a cold wind hitting your chickens on the roosts. A good way to achieve this is to have your ventilation up high so any winds through the ventilation are above them when they are on the roosts. Also, a good time to check them for mites or to other issues or to work on them for other reasons is at night when they are on the roosts. They are easy to catch in the dark. So I want the roosts a convenient height for that.

We are always interested in seeing photos so we can see what you are working with. From what you have written I don't see anything to be concerned about, except those goats.
Thanks so much for this thoughtful response. I'm less worried now though I just asked my handyperson to lower them it's 6' wide and the roost would take up about 2'.
 
How well do you know these people?
Are they someone you visit often or was it just a one time visual?
Just because you see goats and chickens apparently living together in harmony,
doesn't mean there aren't issues.
That's true. It was in person, but only one time. Seemed like they were experts in everything, but ended up being a confusing and strange encounter after the fact. I'm assuming it was animal paradise, but maybe they were leaning towards animal hoarding. They had 9 goats on a plot of land much smaller than ours and were interested in rescuing some goats from my neighbor who was negligent. I had planned to take a couple of my neighbors goats we'd become attached to (the neighbor was grudgingly letting us bring water, which they never had, and was finally ready to let them go), but we weren't ready. They said they'd take the whole lot in the meantime and get them well until I had my setup. Once they got the goats, they never let us visit and blocked all further communication.
 
Mine is 36" off. Just measured it. But now that the handyman is here I think I'll go ahead and ask him to lower it a little. Not so great at doing these things myself. I definitely would not put a heating lamp. The one I mentioned seeing was some sort of professional farmer's hanging heat thing I think. What about brooders that also work as a heater? I was told the one we bought was safe for outside.
In my opinion, chickens (fully feathered) do not need a heat source *unless* you live in a very very cold environment. As long as you have plenty of ventilation (minimum 1sqft per bird) you should be fine without one. Roosting keeps their feet warm and they tend to tuck their heads into their wings when it gets cold to protect their comb/wattles.

As someone else said, you don’t want your roost and nesting boxes the same height.
 

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That's true. It was in person, but only one time. Seemed like they were experts in everything, but ended up being a confusing and strange encounter after the fact. I'm assuming it was animal paradise, but maybe they were leaning towards animal hoarding. They had 9 goats on a plot of land much smaller than ours and were interested in rescuing some goats from my neighbor who was negligent. I had planned to take a couple of my neighbors goats we'd become attached to (the neighbor was grudgingly letting us bring water, which they never had, and was finally ready to let them go), but we weren't ready. They said they'd take the whole lot in the meantime and get them well until I had my setup. Once they got the goats, they never let us visit and blocked all further communication.
You could keep a secondary goat house next to the chicken coop/ build onto the chicken coop on one side. Something like this:
 

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