How long will it take chicks to learn to go up a ramp? My chicks are almost 4 wks and they come out of the brooder down the ramp just fine. But I have to pick up every one each night and put them back in. I have even tried herding them up the ramp, stapled cardboard side boards on, they just fly off after about a foot. When will they "get it"? ramp is a 2ft rise and 6ft length.
Quote:Have you attempted to stand at the top of the ramp and rattle some treats in a can, or offer yogurt on your finger tip?
mine are 5 weeks and have just put a ramp in and they went up on their own so think they will do it when they r ready
One thing to try, is just to wait until dark....you might be surprised that if you let it get a bit darker, they will go in on their own. If they don't, at least you can catch them easily because they're typically very still when it's dark out. (Then you don't have to chase them and catch them, you can just pick them up.)
I wait til dark, go out with a flash light and pick them up from their "pile" in the corner. I have the light on in the brooder so you would think they would go to it, but not yet.
I feed mine a treat of quick oats put in their feeder to get them to come in at night. They get so excited that they fly all over each other and me Before I put a couple of concrete pieces for steps into their house, I used a thick tree branch in front of their door and it worked better than a ramp to teach them how to come in. Instinct tells them to fly up onto something. I keep the same branch in their run and they just love flying up and roosting on it during the day!
My girls are about 8 weeks or so and they started going up on their own when it is bed time. It is cute because the first ones to go in will get on the top roost and call to the others who answer. It's a call that I had not heard until just last night. My wife and I stood there watching them calling and the nes in the run slowly made their way in for the night. Adorable.
My 6 week olds figured out how to get up there after 3 nights. When it was close to dark I would go out and give them a little treat (oats or chopped strawberry tops) at the bottom of the ramp, then sprinkle some on the way up the ramp and add a little pile inside the coop for them to eat after getting up the ramp. The first night no one followed the treats up. The 2nd night almost everyone did, but there were still a few that I needed to put in. Night 3, all but one made it up BEFORE I put treats out and the treats. The last one came up once I laid out the treats. None of them roost in the coop yet, but all huddle together in a corner. I tried putting a few up on the roost, but they just hop down. Maybe they'll figure the roost out eventually.
