I've been using wood shavings for 3 years. I clean my coop daily and compost it all.
It's freely available, lightweight, pleasant to handle.
What's not to like??
So nobody actually knows whether a hen ladder would allow chickens to climb to overnight safety/roost. Plenty opinion. No experience or help.
My Opinion - loosely based on rational thought.
Light two legged creatures ,aka, in this case birds/specifically chickens, will Indeed be able to and...