Roost ladder

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Hello!
I made a ramp for the chickens to get to the roost but I think its too steep. The roost is probably 4 1/2 feet. Some of my heavy girls are having issues. I also recently moved them into this coop so they are still getting used to everything. My question is.. do you think this ladder is good enough? This was a ladder blanket. Should I add additional rungs? It looks like it would work to me but I am always looking for others thoughts and ideas. Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello!
I made a ramp for the chickens to get to the roost but I think its too steep. The roost is probably 4 1/2 feet. Some of my heavy girls are having issues. I also recently moved them into this coop so they are still getting used to everything. My question is.. do you think this ladder is good enough? This was a ladder blanket. Should I add additional rungs? It looks like it would work to me but I am always looking for others thoughts and ideas. Thanks!

Ladders are harder to navigate, and that ladder is very steep. They will do better with an actual ramp with cleats spaced 6-7" apart. You can position it parallel to the long board and prop the end up on a cinder block to further reduce the angle.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If that were a ramp it would be way too steep, but it's not. It is a ladder. it looks like the rungs are about 9" vertical separation. (4-1/2' tall and 6 divisions) If yours are full sized fowl they should be able to walk/hop up that. I don't think that is your problem. My pop door is about a foot off of the ground and they easily step/hop up to that.

I think the problem is more that they don't want to. You just moved them into that coop, they may not have figured it out yet. I don't know what it was like or what they were used to where they came from. A little patience might help.

I don't know what your heavy girls are like. My hatchery quality mixed breed chickens (equivalent to Sussex, Australorp, and Orpington) fly up to my 5' high roosts and back down. I don't feed them with a view to make them as heavy as I can so they can fly pretty well. If yours are that heavy yours may not want to fly back down, I'm not sure how well they would be able to go down that ladder.

Where are they sleeping now? How do you feel about that? As long as mine are not sleeping on the nests and are somewhere predator safe I don't really care where mine sleep. If you want them sleeping up there I'd go out after dark and move them up to that roost. That's generally how you train them to roost where you want them to. If it is dark enough in there they should not hop off during the night. There is nothing wrong with building a ramp like Dobie's. I'd make sure it was no steeper than 45 degrees, a shallower angle is probably a little better. You may still need to train them to sleep up there, sometimes they don't automatically know what you want them to do.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Ladders are harder to navigate, and that ladder is very steep. They will do better with an actual ramp with cleats spaced 6-7" apart. You can position it parallel to the long board and prop the end up on a cinder block to further reduce the angle.
View attachment 3588584

Thanks! I created one like this, but they didn't use it, or haven't yet. Mind you there are not used to using a ladder to get to the roost. They were in a smaller coop with no ladders. How did you keep your ladder in that position? Did you just screw it to the board it's against? or did you use a bracket of some sort?

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Ladders are harder to navigate, and that ladder is very steep. They will do better with an actual ramp with cleats spaced 6-7" apart. You can position it parallel to the long board and prop the end up on a cinder block to further reduce the angle.
View attachment 3588584

This is how I originally had it.. what do you think?

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

If that were a ramp it would be way too steep, but it's not. It is a ladder. it looks like the rungs are about 9" vertical separation. (4-1/2' tall and 6 divisions) If yours are full sized fowl they should be able to walk/hop up that. I don't think that is your problem. My pop door is about a foot off of the ground and they easily step/hop up to that.

I think the problem is more that they don't want to. You just moved them into that coop, they may not have figured it out yet. I don't know what it was like or what they were used to where they came from. A little patience might help.

I don't know what your heavy girls are like. My hatchery quality mixed breed chickens (equivalent to Sussex, Australorp, and Orpington) fly up to my 5' high roosts and back down. I don't feed them with a view to make them as heavy as I can so they can fly pretty well. If yours are that heavy yours may not want to fly back down, I'm not sure how well they would be able to go down that ladder.

Where are they sleeping now? How do you feel about that? As long as mine are not sleeping on the nests and are somewhere predator safe I don't really care where mine sleep. If you want them sleeping up there I'd go out after dark and move them up to that roost. That's generally how you train them to roost where you want them to. If it is dark enough in there they should not hop off during the night. There is nothing wrong with building a ramp like Dobie's. I'd make sure it was no steeper than 45 degrees, a shallower angle is probably a little better. You may still need to train them to sleep up there, sometimes they don't automatically know what you want them to do.

Right, I know it is a ladder. I wanted to know if the ladder what something they could use. I posted a pic in response to DobieLover that shows the ramp. My heavier girls are Barred Rocks. I watched them try to fly up there yesterday but they didn't make it. I am patient. I just wanted to make sure they could use the ramp because I thought it might be too steep. I really have no clue how to make steps, ramps, ladders... that will work. They were in an OverEZ Large coop before. It has roosts really close to the ground, they just jumped up there. There is a ladder to get into the coop though and they used it. Of course it was close to the ground and not steep at all. We built a shed coop to house all our chickens. They have only been in it 2 nights and I have had to put some of them on the roost because they couldn't figure out how to get up there. This is definitely a learning experience for them and me. I am just trying to make sure they can use the ramp or any ideas on how to make easier for them. Right now the ramp I made is against the wall. I wonder if it would make a difference if I moved it out to the middle. I am also having trouble figuring out how to secure it to the side of the roost because of the angle. I will post another pic for you. Maybe you have some ideas.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

If that were a ramp it would be way too steep, but it's not. It is a ladder. it looks like the rungs are about 9" vertical separation. (4-1/2' tall and 6 divisions) If yours are full sized fowl they should be able to walk/hop up that. I don't think that is your problem. My pop door is about a foot off of the ground and they easily step/hop up to that.

I think the problem is more that they don't want to. You just moved them into that coop, they may not have figured it out yet. I don't know what it was like or what they were used to where they came from. A little patience might help.

I don't know what your heavy girls are like. My hatchery quality mixed breed chickens (equivalent to Sussex, Australorp, and Orpington) fly up to my 5' high roosts and back down. I don't feed them with a view to make them as heavy as I can so they can fly pretty well. If yours are that heavy yours may not want to fly back down, I'm not sure how well they would be able to go down that ladder.

Where are they sleeping now? How do you feel about that? As long as mine are not sleeping on the nests and are somewhere predator safe I don't really care where mine sleep. If you want them sleeping up there I'd go out after dark and move them up to that roost. That's generally how you train them to roost where you want them to. If it is dark enough in there they should not hop off during the night. There is nothing wrong with building a ramp like Dobie's. I'd make sure it was no steeper than 45 degrees, a shallower angle is probably a little better. You may still need to train them to sleep up there, sometimes they don't automatically know what you want them to do.

Here is the ladder. I did move it down a little. Its definitely more steep than 45. I suck at making things or coming up with ideas. I don't really mind where they sleep but they are all used to sleeping on a roost. In the new coop, some do, others try, and others dont care. Lol. I need to figure out how to make it easier for them.

 

[Iluveggers]

Here is the ladder. I did move it down a little. Its definitely more steep than 45. I suck at making things or coming up with ideas. I don't really mind where they sleep but they are all used to sleeping on a roost. In the new coop, some do, others try, and others dont care. Lol. I need to figure out how to make it easier for them.

Could you put something under the bottom to make the angle less steep, say a cinderblock?

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Could you put something under the bottom to make the angle less steep, say a cinderblock?

Yes, I have do have a couple of blocks I can use.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I need to figure out how to make it easier for them.

With that nice open coop where they can spread their wings I have trouble understanding why your barred rocks don't just fly up there if they want to go up there. Mine fly higher than that. And I'm confident mine could go up that ladder you show in your first post. But you say all of yours don't get up there on their own. You are looking at them, I am not, so I'll take your word for it.

Chickens don't automatically know how to use a ramp. They don't know to go to the base and walk up. Often they go on the ground under the high point and can't figure out how to get to the top. You see that a lot with broody hens trying to get their chicks up a ramp into an elevated coop. I don't like ramps and almost never use them. Instead I build steps for the baby chicks out of pavers. It is much more natural for them to climb up steps to get to the top. I could see steps built out of cinder blocks working for you. Or build steps out of wood. Say a rise of 9" with a 9" width. Steps would not have to be that strong, they has to support chickens, not you.

Or try what the others are saying with that ramp in your photo in post #7. Raise the bottom to make the slope flatter. You could have a couple of steps up to the raised base. I'd screw the top in place so it is stable. You don't want it to fall.

I still think part of your problem is that some of them don't want to. They are not going to climb a ladder, ramp, or steps, or fly up there if they don't want to. So I'd still suggest setting them up there after dark to develop the desire in them for them to sleep up there.