Ideas to make landings easier?

[Jrbedwell]

Got a bird recovering from bumblefoot. Our run includes a catio addition that has some jumps that are more than a foot high, and they are wood landings that i can house down daily. Is there anything i can put on the landings to make it a bit easier on their legs when coming down, particularly Miss Bumble? I was thinking astroturf, but i didn’t know (1) if it can be cleaned with a hose and (2) will they eat it?

 

[perkolator]

What is the current floor? 1-2ft isn't that high at all IMO. Many people use deep dry bedding made from organic materials - leaves, wood chips etc. When thick enough, it has shock absorbency for softer landing, just like wood chips under a playground

 

[mowin]

I would think wood chips or straw.

 

[Shadrach]

Got a bird recovering from bumblefoot. Our run includes a catio addition that has some jumps that are more than a foot high, and they are wood landings that i can house down daily. Is there anything i can put on the landings to make it a bit easier on their legs when coming down, particularly Miss Bumble? I was thinking astroturf, but i didn’t know (1) if it can be cleaned with a hose and (2) will they eat it?

Ime chickens will use landing stages to get up to perches but fly directly down if possible to reach the floor. I try to keep perches to jump height. A picture of your coop might be useful.

 

[Jrbedwell]

What is the current floor? 1-2ft isn't that high at all IMO. Many people use deep dry bedding made from organic materials - leaves, wood chips etc. When thick enough, it has shock absorbency for softer landing, just like wood chips under a playground

Currently, the landings are just plain wood. The bedding idea an interesting option, but does it clean easily, or do you just replace it? I guess i could also put grass, straw, or sand on them since that’s what we use in the coop and run, but i wanted to see if there was a more permanent option .

 

[3KillerBs]

Why do you hose things down?

As a general rule, dry chickens are healthy chickens. Wet conditions in the coop and run can breed harmful bacteria.

 

[Jrbedwell]

Ime chickens will use landing stages to get up to perches but fly directly down if possible to reach the floor. I try to keep perches to jump height. A picture of your coop might be useful.

So, this is the catio that we have added on to the run, and the ledges i am referencing, 3 on each side. When they are on the top, they will jump down via the landings to get to the bottom (occasionally, they will fly down, but it’s pretty rare). I’m just trying to see if there is something i can put on those bottom two landings on each side to make them a little softer.

Why do you hose things down?

As a general rule, dry chickens are healthy chickens. Wet conditions in the coop and run can breed harmful bacteria.

I hose the landings down because they poop on them, and if i use a jet setting on the hose, i can spray all of their waste on those landings to the outside of the run so they aren’t stepping in it when they go up and down. I don’t do this in the coop, just in the part of the run where we have the catio pictured above added on.

 

[aart]

(occasionally, they will fly down, but it’s pretty rare)

The reason they don't fly down is there is not enough landing space on the ground.
That enclosure is great for cats, but chickens need more 'floor' space.
How big is it anyway, WxLxH?

 

[Jrbedwell]

The reason they don't fly down is there is not enough landing space on the ground.
That enclosure is great for cats, but chickens need more 'floor' space.
How big is it anyway, WxLxH?

The entire run is 10x8x6. They don't have any issues getting up and down, I'm just trying to see if there's a way to make that 2nd and 1st floor landing a bit easier on their legs. If that level of drop is nbd, then we'll just keep on keepin' on with things as they are.

 

[tripletfeb]

What about a rubber mat somehow? I would think you could still spray it off if you wanted to