chickens afraid of ramps

[mener6896]

my 4 week old pullets don't seem to know how to go up and down any type of ramp. I have one that comes out of their baby coop, but also a ramp in the chicken tractor (I've only put them in this a couple of times for 1/2 hr at a time) they just sit at the top. once in a while they will "fly" down, but don't seem to know how to get down. I've tried sprinkling their food down the ramp, but nothing helps.

Is this a learned behavior that they will figure out once they get older?

 

[baldie]

I think they will figure it out. And once one does it, all the others will follow!!

 

[foweler]

I had one that wouldn't go down the ramp until I stapled a strip of old towel to it.
Apparently it was more slippery than I thought. The other 2 were just more aggressive and powering their way up and down it.
The towel made it easier on everyone. Now they just casually stroll down in the morning when I open the door.

 

[mener6896]

my chickens are such.......CHICKENS!!!! I've been putting them in my chicken tractor for the last few days because the weather is finally nice (they are currently living in a small coop in my garage until the bigger one gets built) and I thought they would enjoy the sunshine. The somehow get up into the top, but still won't use the ramp or even fly down for that matter!! I even tried enticing them with some bird seed/cracked corn that I sprinkled on the grass. I'll post a pic to show the tractor, but is there anything that I'm doing wrong? The whole point of my tractor was so they can safely free range. But they seem to chicken to come down!! When I want to put them back inside, I have to have one of my kids crawl in there to get them out!! I'm definitely going to install a door on the back of the box!

 

[mechagrue]

I keep refreshing this thread to see if anyone has an answer for you, because I need one too!

I've gone through several ramp revisions in the last 2 days. The 2nd ramp I built was like yours - a central "spine" with slats going across it as ladder steps. What I observed was that the ladder would tilt back and forth when the chickens walked down it, which freaked them out.

I can't tell from your picture, but you might want to be sure that the end is really secure, to keep it from rolling back and forth.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try establishing a routine for them. I'll shoo them out in the morning, and shoo them back in at night. Hopefully they will get used to the ramp, and take the hint. I've read several other posts saying that this will work. Fingers crossed!

 

[mener6896]

I think I figured mine out. I took an old rug and cut small pieces to put down the ramp (actually in between the slats) This seemed to do the trick, they use it now. Although I haven't actually seen them, they are sometimes up at the top and sometimes at the bottom. I think it may have been to slippery for them.