Good Morning.I have been raising chickens going on 2 years and I'm a little confused.We don't want our chickens to jump out of the runs,but I noticed that some coops have ladders to the roosts and some don't.For some that is a pretty good jump and it allows them to practice jumping(making them good at it).This gets them ready for their great escape.I'm working on an idea to replace the ladder I have with a different design.I have a fairly high roost as some I have seen with no ladder.Do I need a ladder.
I think as the chickens get bigger, the jumping/flying becomes a little harder. We have 2 ladders inside the coop. It does still require some jumping. And a ladder from the coop to the run at the exit door.
It depends on breed and how high. My birds almost never use the ladder but jump to the first roost, then to the next and so forth. In the morning they jump down. I try to keep deep bedding where they jump to cause some are jersey giants and I believe they could damage a leg but so far so good.
I hadn't thought about their size as they get older and I Like the idea of the added bedding under the ladder.I am thinking about a setup with 2 short ladders and a landing so that it isn't so steep and they can get to the roost easier.I'm also making it so that it can be removed easily so that l can clean it good as well as the inside of the coop.My floor is 8x8xappr7.This way it is already setup for whatever breed I get and the material is free.Thanks
I have a ladder and most times they use it. But from time to time somebody gets on the ladder and just stops. Then the other get impatient. Sometimes one will get behind the stuck one and push, than times they will jump. From the bottom post the the floor is only 36 inches but they still like the ladder. So for me it stays.
