Chicken not following the others

[bdhiiii]

Forgive me if this is the wrong thread type, I have 4 silkie chickens around 11 weeks as of today I believe they all follow each other around except when it comes to the ramp/ladder in their chicken coop they'll all use it and the leader chicken tries to get this one I call truffle since she loves to eat a lot and mess with the others, she'll run into the walls and refuse to follow anyone else I have to manually help her up, is this normal?

 

[GoosesGeeses]

So she wont go up the ladder with the others?

 

[GoosesGeeses]

All i can think of is that silkies have the crests and that may make her unable to see the ramp well enough to climb it and so she runs into the walls.

 

[GoosesGeeses]

you could trim the feathers around her eyes so she can see better

 

[bdhiiii]

All i can think of is that silkies have the crests and that may make her unable to see the ramp well enough to climb it and so she runs into the walls.

Her crest doesnt cover her eyes at all yet, she can see she just doesnt like to follow the others and decides to peck at the wall instead unless they all run up the ramp at once

 

[debid]

Every now and then, you have a chicken that's just a little bit special. I had one that would wander off on her own and get lost. She would have been weeded from the gene pool in a harsher world but because she lived here, I would herd her back to safety. Every single time they were allowed out to range, she would stray from the flock and often needed help finding her way back. One day while we were herding her back, she went past the garage and the side door was ajar. So, of course she went inside and up the stairs into the loft area. It was dusk, the rest of them were heading to he roost. Not her, no good sense in her feathered head.

 

[bdhiiii]

Every now and then, you have a chicken that's just a little bit special. I had one that would wander off on her own and get lost. She would have been weeded from the gene pool in a harsher world but because she lived here, I would herd her back to safety. Every single time they were allowed out to range, she would stray from the flock and often needed help finding her way back. One day while we were herding her back, she went past the garage and the side door was ajar. So, of course she went inside and up the stairs into the loft area. It was dusk, the rest of them were heading to he roost. Not her, no good sense in her feathered head.

So is there anything I have to get for her or do I just have to give her a little help with things

 

[debid]

It could be as simple as they eventually learn but take a critical look at your setup and see if the entry path can be made more simple. A gentle ramp slope that has a straight path to the doorway is easiest.

 

[bdhiiii]

It could be as simple as they eventually learn but take a critical look at your setup and see if the entry path can be made more simple. A gentle ramp slope that has a straight path to the doorway is easiest.

yea thats my setup

 

[Tired old Rooster]

So is there anything I have to get for her or do I just have to give her a little help with things

A guiding hand at her age should work. Once they get the idea, they are usually fine. Rather than picking her up and putting her straight in the coop, it might help to pick her up and sort of "float" her up the ramp. Like when you are holding a toddlers hands to steady them when they learn to walk. That way she can get a visual of her going up the ramp as she will when she walks up it.

Most of all, be patient. Even when her antics make you feel like your head is bending out of shape in the effort to understand.