I gave a silkie and showgirl pair to a friend. She wanted to do a "proper"coop with run for them, with the run part being 4' x 7' with the coop being raised about 5' high with a ramp leading up.. I told her silkies are not very well known for using ramps.. am aware there are silkies that do, but mine all were those that just sleep in a big pile on floor. Plus they were from show stock bloodlines, with the short bodies with short legs- not very athletic at all.. Friend still would like to do a raised coop that would work for the silkie that is unwilling/unable to use a ladder/ramp. I was totally stumped as for ideas/suggestions... my pens for silkies all were simple- all level floor aviary like setting with completely solid roof and 3 sides.. Pictures? Suggestions? Her winters hit just about freezing temps many nights and summers are very hot (29 Palms if anybody is familiar..)
First off, i would advise against doing a run that is 4 feet tall, unless she is 3' tall. i made that mistake and ended up adding onto the top so i could stand up inside. i still need to hunch to get in the door - not good when i have a strained back. But at least i can stand up to clean inside, or sit on a chair and enjoy my kids. i do have some silkies that have trouble getting up even a couple inches into their coop. But most of my silkies can hop. In one of my pens i have an elevated chick-n-barn, maybe up two feet. Then i have a nest box (1' tall) out in front of the door, with a ramp then leading from the top of that box to the entrance to the coop. So the angle on the ramp is very slight. i'll take a picture tomorrow and post it. The silkies and showgirls have no problem hopping up onto the box then walking the ramp.
I finally got my silkies to climb a ramp... I started out with about a 45 degree ramp with wooden cleats. That one never happened and they'd just assume starve to death than climb that ramp to their food. I ended up having to build 2 ramps with a turn so I could get the ramp to about a 22.5 degree angle. Then I covered the ramps with 1/2 inch hardware cloth for traction. It took them right at 2 weeks to learn it but now all 5 of them run up and down like it's nothing. Mine sleep in a pile also... what's up with that?
geosheets, do you happen to have a picture of your updated ramp? I've got one silkie who goes down the ramp no problem but is hesitant to go up. It's only been a couple of days since she was introduced to it, but I want to get an idea of what I might need to do in case she never figures it out
I'll post a picture of my silkie space tomorrow. I raised the henhouse about 2 foot, any more for silkies would be moot, they are groundlovers. I ended up taking out their roost, it was pointless. The entire secure enclosure is 4x8. The raised henhouse does give them a lot more run space then they would otherwise have.
I don't have chickens because it's illegal here, so I don't know nuffin', but what happens if you put treats all up the ramp. Would the silkies be enticed by treats?
What a good question. I don't have silkies but I love them and breeding stock is available here. The only specialized silkie coop I have seen is inside a huge barn and the silkie coops are far different from the others and make use of scrap 4x4's on the floor in the bedding, and the nest boxes are also sitting on 4x4's. I noticed the pens are highly predator-proof, too, use 1/2" gauge hardware cloth, that the floors have the same wire underneath and that low ceilings were provided in those pens, which are heavily insulated.
