Getting chickens down from second story coop

[startingover]

Has anyone ever seen someone have their chickens on the second floor of a barn? We took down a 100 year old barn and are rebuilding it. We hoped to have it done before winter, but alas it is not. So it is hold for a little while until the weather will allow us to finish it.

Anyway - the horses will be on the first floor along with our Anatolians. We also plan on having a small workshop on the first floor so we can work on the tractor or whatever. On the second floor we want to put the chickens. Their area would be about 20 x 30 ft. The rest of the loft would be for hay. There will be a wall so they can't get to the hay. The barn is a gambrel roof barn and the chicken room outside wall (that isn't roof) is all windows. I'm trying to figure out the best way for the chickens to be able to get DOWN safely. Looking for other people's imputs here to see what they think. These pics aren't current and we have done a bunch of work since I took this. I will take some more tomorrow with the snow.

I don't know how to post pics on here - but here are the pics that I put on my blog.

http://startingover-anewlifeinthecountry.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

 

[laughing man]

sweet barn!!!

mine fly up and down, but its only 4 feet to the chicken loft. good luck

 

[secuono]

How are YOU going to get up there? I'm sure they will use a ladder just fine, just put it on a lower angle.

 

[OkChickens]

Great work on the barn! For the chickens on the 2nd floor I would use a ladder or ramp about 1-2 feet wide no steeper than 45 degrees, I would personally use a ramp with firring strips about 1x1 as "stairs" about every 3 inches to insure they can go up and down. I would run it up against the barn and use a few supports underneath the ramp. This is very in expensive to make maybe $10 at most. Hope this helps!

-Nate

 

[startingover]

LOL. I will get up with stairs. Haven't built them yet. But we don't want the chickens using our stairs since the will go to the hay loft. Stairs will be in the tack room where there will be a door so they can't get in there.

 

[Chick Charm]

I have never heard of keeping them in the upper part of a barn but have seen coops that were suspended about 8 feet up in the air. So it must work. Eropeans tend to raise some of thier coops really high.

 

[patandchickens]

So basically the question is how to get chickens down to a ground-level run from a second-story coop?

There are several BYCers who have done this, the only one I can half-remember offhand is someone in Vermont but I know there are others out there.

My suggestion would be to change this thread title, or start another thread, to something specifically about that (like "chicken access to ground-level run from 2nd floor coop?") and see who replies.

The Vermont person did not have a run IIRC, just a sort of intermediate landing pad so they could fly down/up and free range in her yard.

From a theory/guess standpoint, I'd say your best bet would be to make the run 2 stories tall, with a ramp or possibly some intermediate-height landing pads, and let the chickens choose exactly how to negotiate it. But you'd do better to troll up the people with actual experience in this

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Lady Henevere]

Here's vermontgal's: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2408924

 

[they'reHISchickens]

My son's farm has an old fashioned chicken house built above the steer barn. It's large, plenty of windows, typical farm chicken house about 20 x 40. He does not free-range his chickens, but they have plenty of room. Walls floors and ceiling are tongue in groove planks ( so jealous!)
If you wanted to free range, a long plank with foot holds in it every foot would get them up and down easily. Place it and the pop door at the area closest to ground. Make sure it's at an easy place to lock up every night or put an auto door on it.

 

[startingover]

The lowest point available will be about 12 feet. I am thinking of putting a landing board about 2 feet wide along the windows and off of both sides have ramps down. The guineas I think will love to fly up to it once they get it and I imagine that the chickens will use the ramp...