I posted about my chicken having trouble using the ramp- found out she's slipping- feathered feet-no

[Chickory Chick]

Thanks for the reply about putting treats up the ramp. I watched her closely and the poor girl is slipping on the feathers on her feet. she isn't clumsy (as we suspected), but slips on the painted 2 x 4 roosts too. all the other chickens are doing fine. What can I put on the ramp and roosts to give her traction? Carpet? Seems messy... Any ideas? Thanks so much.
Chickory Chick

 

[Irishhenman]

get some tree branches about 1" diameter and screw them into the ramp for grip. get a larger branch of about 2 or 3" diameter and use that for the roost. Or you could get some rubber matting to rap,around the roost

 

[speckledhen]

Rubber matting would be fine, just do not put anything rough like traction tape on anything. That can cause bumblefoot issues and trust me, you do not want to start up a cycle of that!


The painted roosts will eventually become less slippery as their nails scratch into the paint and she'll learn how to negotiate them better anyway as she gets used to them.

Your ramp must have some steepness to it. If you can lift the base of it up some and lessen the incline, that will help. I always glued/screwed small 1x1 or 1x2 pieces of sanded lumber to the ramps every 6-12" to give them traction.

 

[Our Roost]

Carpet on the roosts is being used by another BYC member and says it is especially good during the winter months to help keep their feet warmer. Dare I ask how steep of an angle you have on the ramp? I put some 1/2 x 3/4 inch wide strips across the ramp every 3 or so inches for their feet to grip on instead of a flat, slick painted board. Try that and I hope it helps.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Even chicken wire will give them added traction on the ramp.