I just moved my hens outside into their new tractor. The tractor has a coop on top and a pen area below. They figured out how to walk down the ladder from the coop to the pen but don't seem to understand how to go back up. Any one have any suggestions for how to train them to go up at night into their coop?
My chickens walk down the ramp in the morning, but never walk up it. Instead they fly up to the perch next to the door and walk in. I found this out when I was trying to train the chicks to get back into the coop, they are phenomenal imitators and always follow mama hens lead, but when she flew up to the coop door they just looked up at her baffled. In short, don't expect them to walk up the ramp.
Portia is correct, my hens walk down the ramp but they all go to the side of the ramp and jump/fly to the top of the ramp basically to the entrance of the pop hole. They will eventually figure it out but in the meantime you may have to set them on the ramp and show them the way at dusk.
Here's another idea that I've used with some of the wayward teens: put a light on in the coop. As it gets dark the chickens will all head into the lighted coop, especially if there's food and water to be had. Once they are all in, turn the light off and close the door.
Mine walk up the ramps. I teach puppies on stairs and chicks on ramps the same way. Instead of making them go the entire distance, I gently pick them up and put them very close to the end. In this case, I would place them on the ramp at the very top, so they only need to take a step or two, to get in. When that's not a problem, I place them on the ramp a little farther down, so they have to walk farther up. If the ramp is steep and slick, they'll have a much harder time going up on their own. Any ramp that is steep will need something added for traction/grip.
