Is this a chick death-trap?

[chicknshrimp]

I have 15 2-3 wk old chicks who will not stay contained in their indoor brooder. They keep flying out and getting stuck away from their food/water/heat, I've already blocked the top but they fly out anyways, so I moved them into my small outdoor coop with their Ecoglow heater. It has an enclosed top where the food/water/heat is and it has a ladder leading into a completely enclosed outdoor run.

I've used this before with a mamma and chicks and she showed them how to follow her up the ladder. If they go down the ladder will they know to come back up? I put hardware cloth on the ladder for grip so they physically can but I'm not sure they will know to and I'm afraid they could get stuck down there away from the heater while I'm at work.

We'll have highs in the 70s this week and I'll close them in at night but is this dangerous? My other option is to close them in the top but then it's really dark all day.

 

[song of joy]

I put my 3-week old chicks in the outdoor coop a few days ago, and gave them access to the small enclosed area (similar to your set-up) today. A couple of the chicks went down the ladder and couldn't figure out how to get back into the coop with the food, water and their buddies. I heard the very loud distress peeps from the house and had to put them back in. So, yes, I think it may be dangerous with them being so young and the temperatures being not quite warm enough for 2-3 week old chicks.

I'd recommend stapling some hardware cloth over the pop-hole to give them light and ventilation while you're away. When you're home, remove the hardware cloth and let them go up and down the ramp. They usually figure it out after several days. This will also reinforce to them where they're supposed to sleep at night.

 

[MaLoTu]

I'd recommend stapling some hardware cloth over the pop-hole to give them light and ventilation while you're away. When you're home, remove the hardware cloth and let them go up and down the ramp. They usually figure it out after several days. This will also reinforce to them where they're supposed to sleep at night.

This is a great suggestion.

 

[chicknshrimp]

Great thanks, thats what I thought. I'll give the hardware cloth a try, thats a good idea!

 

[azygous]

Genius idea! Glad you're going to do it! The chicks will be fine, and when you're home, they can learn to go up and down the ramp and you'll be able to rescue any slow learners.