I recently put a 2nd level on my coop with a ladder ( a board with 1x1 strips), with some nice nesting boxes. Well, my chickens don't use it. I put them up there numerous times, even trying to teach them to walk the plank. My chics are Silkies. Do Silkies not like to walk up planks? I don't know? Any ideas from anyone?
I put a second level in our coop and my chickens don't use it either. In fact, they all cram in the same corner (but that certainly makes it easier for clean up).
Yup, chickens are like that. That's why every spring when people post "I am building a coop and don't really have enough room for the chickens I want, but I can just build them a second story and so that will count as twice the square footage for them, right?" I am one of the people who always responds that No, it won't. An "upstairs" usually gets used a *bit*, especially if there is ongoing social strife in your flock, but it is never going to be used anything LIKE the same way the ground floor is. Chickens are really basically ground-dwelling birds. Even chickens that *aren't* silkies <g> That said, are you CERTAIN your plank is not too steep, and that they have sufficient horizontal room to feel ok about hopping up and down; and how *many* times have you tried manually placing them up there; and is there sufficient light up there for them to easily see. All of which can contribute to not wanting to go up there. Good luck, have fun, Pat
I read on here about someone adding a second level and decided I could too. I added it in the run (which is a pvc pipe 'hoop' run). My chickens use it quite a bit. Some even roost there at night. I don't close the coop door because my run is predator proof, so I just close the run door. Some go up there in the mornings before I let them out to free range. I don't let them out as early as I use to, so they will eat more layer pellets before going out for the day. My run is not quite as big as it should be for the number of chickens that I have, so the extra level gives any picked on chickens a chance to get away from any bullies.
I don't have Silkies but I have heard that they do not like ramps and such. My coop is "technically" the second floor. It is built on top of my run. My birds seem to defy all popular beliefs and enter and exit through a hole in the floor all day long. I think I'd try manually putting them there a few more times and see what happens...good luck!
Thanks for the replies. There is a nice size window on the 2nd floor. I don't think the plank is to steep, looking at some of the designs I've seen, mine has a gentle slope and it is about a foot wide. Maybe I'll have to make it more enticing up there.
I put food up the ramp ladder to mine they follow the trail up and then they stay!!!!!! You have to make sure you don;t put treats up there and forget about them incase the girls don;t eat them and they go bad! Oesdog -
I wouldn't think the Silkies will ever go up there. Mine don't even hop up the 1ft to where the nest boxes are. The japs walk on it, but Silkies prefer to be as close to the floor as possible, weird-os.
