My hens won’t use the ladder and 2 have bumble foot!

[georgias3chickens]

My 3 hens absolutely refuse to use the ladder up to their roosts and they fly up/down from them. Recently, i found that 2 have mild cases of bumble foot and I’m worried that it’s due to them smacking their feet down onto the floor when they fly down. Is there any way I can encourage it or do I need to change the design of the roosts? They also never use nest boxes anymore and will lay eggs on the platform under the roosts which also cause them to fly up/down from them. Please let me know if you have any tips!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

In my experiences chickens don't really use a ladder unless absolutely necessary. You could add a lower roost for them to hop up to or a long ramp may work. The ladder is too narrow, especially if multiple birds wish to use it.

The nest boxes on the floor probably feels unsafe for them. Some hens like laying on the ground, but most don't. I find around 3 feet up is a good distance.

I don't think the distance to the ground is causing your foot problems. Mine fly down from higher than that. I haven't seen any bumblefoot problems here. Are your roosts sanded? What type of bedding are you using?

 

[georgias3chickens]

In my experiences chickens don't really use a ladder unless absolutely necessary. You could add a lower roost for them to hop up to or a long ramp may work. The ladder is too narrow, especially if multiple birds wish to use it.

The nest boxes on the floor probably feels unsafe for them. Some hens like laying on the ground, but most don't. I find around 3 feet up is a good distance.

I don't think the distance to the ground is causing your foot problems. Mine fly down from higher than that. I haven't seen any bumblefoot problems here. Are your roosts sanded? What type of bedding are you using?

Thank you so much for your reply. I use pine shavings in the nest boxes and on the platform, builders sand on the floor of the coop and mulch in the run

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thank you so much for your reply. I use pine shavings in the nest boxes and on the platform, builders sand on the floor of the coop and mulch in the run

What kind of mulch? We have used mulch a time or two in our deep litter run. It can be pokey. Jumping off the roosts can cause arthritis down the road, but it shouldn't cause injuries in the feet.

Are they confined to a run? The foot injuries also need to get infected by bacteria, so maybe a run overall would help get rid of some of the issues. I'm only guessing as I haven't ever seen it before here.

 

[georgias3chickens]

What kind of mulch? We have used mulch a time or two in our deep litter run. It can be pokey. Jumping off the roosts can cause arthritis down the road, but it shouldn't cause injuries in the feet.

Are they confined to a run? The foot injuries also need to get infected by bacteria, so maybe a run overall would help get rid of some of the issues. I'm only guessing as I haven't ever seen it before here.

They free range everyday in the garden ranging from 2-5 hours depending on how long we are around. I don’t like to let them free range when I can’t keep an eye on them. I will show you the run, I’m not sure what kind of mulch it is though

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Ours dig around in our mulch quite a bit, so that probably isn't the problem, but you never know. Are your roosts, and any wood they stand on well sanded?

 

[georgias3chickens]

Ours dig around in our mulch quite a bit, so that probably isn't the problem, but you never know. Are your roosts, and any wood they stand on well sanded?

Yes they were sanded with an electric sander

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hopefully someone else has a better idea, and experience dealing with this problem. Not sure what else could be causing it.

 

[Azhtann]

I don't know if this would make a difference, but my chickens seem to prefer rounded perches. It almost seems as though yours are square? I could be seeing it wrong as well, and it might make no difference.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The ladder is cute but yes I'd scrap it, their instincts will generally tell them to fly up to roost, fly down to go about their day. Might want to build up the bedding inside the coop to give them a more cushioned landing, but I have chickens coming off the roost and landing right on wood chips and really only the heaviest birds ever have bumblefoot issues (and I haven't had any issue the last year).

Has the run been very wet in the last few months or anything like that? That seems to worsen the risk of bumblefoot.

As far as the nests I always have had floor height nests and it's never been an issue. Putting some fake eggs in there (don't think I see any?) and quickly collecting any laid up top might help redirect their interest back to the nests.