How long can the ladder to go outside be?

[MrsJWells]

I know this may sound crazy but what is the length that the ladder can be for the chickens to get out of the coop and into their yard?

I am still trying to figure out exactly what kind of a coop we need/want and I have several options as to where it can be.

It does get cold here in the winter. I saw several people have built the inside of their coops in their garage. That may work perfect for us, but there is one small detail....where they would have their pop door would be about 8 feet up....I could build a nifty ladder, switch back if it needs to but I don't want the ladies to get exhausted to go out or come in!

I hope I am making some sense here.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Joann

 

[chickens3]

Well it does not matter how long the latter is as long as they can get down the latter easy and it is not that hard for them to go up the latter.

 

[patandchickens]

There's a BYCer somewhere in New England whose chickens are in the second story of a carriage-house type garage. She has a ramp going down to a perch about halfway and I believe they fly up/down to/from that perch.

So as long as you are willing to put a bit of extra effort into making it chickenfriendly and maybe training them as needed, I don't think height is a limiting factor

Have fun,

Pat