ramp from pop hole?

PirateGirl

Chicken Lover, Duck Therapist
6 Years
Mar 11, 2017
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South Park, Colorado, USA
We are almost done constructing our first coop. Due to prevailing winds, we changed our plan and decided to have the pop hole and ramp come out the bottom of the coop instead of from one of the walls to minimize draft. We have never had chickens and my husband and I have had much debate over the ramp and if it is (or even could be) too steep. When we lower the angle of the ramp to make the grade more gradual, then they have less headroom to get in and out of the coop. Is there a magic angle? We're thinking at this point we will just leave it and if the chickens are having trouble negotiating it we will adjust it. I'm just curious from others experience what sort of angle and head clearance the chickens like to navigate the ramp through the pop hole.
 
We have never had chickens When we lower the angle of the ramp to make the grade more gradual, then they have less headroom to get in and out of the coop. Is there a magic angle?
A good rule of thumb in a perfect world:
Make your ramp twice as long as the drop which would give you a 6/12 pitch and an angle of 22.5º.
A 4x4 block (or even higher) attached to the end of your ramp to make a step up will do a lot to reduce the slope also.


Where your access is through the floor head room is a major problem. (Not my first choice for a pop door). Having the opening as close to an exterior wall as possible is a good start. Suspending your ramp from the floor of your coop with a chain adjusted to give your birds more head room as they ascend the ramp may serve you well if the opening is elsewhere. Birds can easily handle a 4" hope into the coop or even more.

Making the ramp as long as possible and hinging it away from the opening as far as possible may also work for you to give the hens the required head room.
That way the ramp could close off the opening in the floor when drawn into place.


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With a bottom hole how do you keep the litter in coop? I'd cover the bottom hole and make a door on the wall 6 inches up from coop floor to keep pine shavings in. Put the door on south side of coop if possible.
 
Thanks everyone. With the way our winds are it will be far less drafty this way than in the wall. It's framed out in a way that all the gaps are covered when it's closed up and is as far from the roost as possible. I will get pics soon. There's plywood running between the legs instead of wire cage below on that side as a wind block too. It sounds like I will have to go re-evaluate the angle and the head clearance.
 
My bottom opening is about 24" in length. The door is about 12" longer than that. About 9" past the door, I drilled a hole in the floor. I attached paracord to the door and ran the cord through the hole in the floor, through a couple of eye bolts in the rafters and to a hook on the front of the coop. I can raise and lower the door from the outside by pulling a cord.



I don't have a good picture of the door, but you can see where the cord is attached to the hook using a carabiner for a handle. To lower the door, I remove the carabiner from the hook and gravity pulls it to the eye bolt above in the rafters. When lowered, the door hangs about 3" above the ground. I'll try to take a better picture this afternoon after I get back from church.

One thing I've discovered. You will need to put a 6" tall wall around the opening in the floor to keep the bedding material from being scratched out. It lands on the door when it is closed and falls below when I open the door.
 
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Thanks @Flock In Texas ! Your coop looks to be a similar size to mine. Good tip about a lip around the hole to help keep the bedding in better. We also ran a line up and through an eyehook to the outside to be able to raise and lower the door. Mine is approx. 4'x5' with 2' underneath that will be a fenced part of their enclosure so they have something covered but outside in bad weather. I think I need to modify what my husband built while I was at work ;) I hope he doesn't get too upset, he is being super helpful, but I'm the one who has been doing all the reading about how much space the chickens need for everything like size of door, roost space, nest box size, etc. It's coming together though.
 




I don't have more recent photos, but underneath will be fenced and we extended the wall down on the windy side where the pop hole is to block the wind from blowing straight up into the coop. The drawbridge can be raised and lowered with the strap from the outside. There is a board that can be slotted across the outside of the hatch for added security.
 
I'm jealous of all the space you have. I live in a nice neighborhood with one acre lots, but I want more space. What state are you in? It looks kind of like the Texas plains around Amarillo, but I'd guess Idaho or maybe Kansas.

You might consider rotating the door 90 degrees and have it open parallel with the long side. That way you can make the door/ramp longer and have a lesser incline.
 

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