how much head clearance on the ramp?

[Jewelwing]

Since my coop is raised 2' off the ground and it's a walk-in coop, I'm planning to put a deck off the front with stairs to make it easier for me. But the best way I can think of (for a number of reasons) to get the chickens down from their pop door (which is 12" above the future deck) is to have the ramp go through a hole in the deck.

So I'm wondering how big a hole I need to make in the deck to allow them to go down the ramp without hitting their heads on the deck on the way down! I'm wondering if 12" headroom will be enough, or if I need to figure out how to give them more.

Any ideas? I have several different breeds (9 chicks altogether), but it looks like the two Brahmas will be the biggest, if their 7-week old size is any indication.

 

[Jewelwing]

Oh, and also, how wide should the ramp be?

 

[jetdog]

You will be surprised how small of a space chickens can get in to my ramp is 8inches wide and they have no problems if you need an exact answer in inches I would say 12 inches is a good starting point.

 

[Alaskan]

I agree with above.

 

[Jewelwing]

I just realized that 12" of headroom must be enough, because that's how tall the ADOR1 automatic pop door is! They'll have to get through that, so they will surely be able to run down the ramp with a foot of space between the ramp and the deck above.

Thanks for the replies!