MJ's little flock

[BDutch]

It's 50cm wide and 90 long for an easy slope.

If its slippery you can staple an old towel on to it. That’s what I did.

Last year:

 

[BY Bob]

In other news, I took a long lunch today and drove out to Greenock to Laucke's and bought the Red Hen Chick crumble. It was a lovely drive in perfect weather and I'd always wanted to see Laucke's mill. Such a great way to break up a working day.

It wasn't as far as the eggs were, there wasn't as much traffic, and it was expressways and highways the whole way.

Sounds like a wonderful drive.

 

[BY Bob]

Why do you keep chicks within the coop and porch for a week Bob? Are you worried about them navigating the ramp?

I am worried about them being large enough to navigate the ramp, porch, etc. When they have little wings with feathers those obstacles are much easier to manage. I found Sydney’s were always getting separated and stuck places where I needed to help them so a week seems good.

With Sydney, I was able to be there all day. I could not be there all day with Glynda and Lady Featherington so I thought I would make it easier for the mums by limiting their options

Glynda wasn't interested in taking them out of the coop until a week was past anyway. Lady Featherington would have taken them out sooner but Glynda wouldn't let her.

Of course there was this by product one night.

Aurora either missed the automated door or decided to roost on the porch barrier for some reason.

 

[BY Bob]

How effective did you do your work?

I'm still working there so.......good enough?

I was definitely less productive for sure.

 

[Shadrach]

If its slippery you can staple an old towel on to it. That’s what I did.

Last year:
View attachment 3973196

The towel is a good idea but staples, assuming they are the same size and type of staple one use in a paper stapler, are not. They do not grip well, not even the heavy duty ones and that's because they are designed to fold once the material is pierced. They pull out easily basically and they are not good for the chickens digestion. A thin wooden batten at top and bottom with the material folded around once and then the strip screwed into the ramp is preferable.

 

[BY Bob]

I make a barrier for the newly hatched every hatch, because I don’t wont them to go downstairs before the are old enough to follow mamma. When they come down (after 4-5 days) I like to be around to see if they can find their way up again when its time to sleep.
During the day they take naps on the ground floor under mamas wings.

Bc the standard ramp is rather steep, and difficult to return to the nest-box , I added a temporary broader and less steep ramp

@BY Bob
We all do things differently but this looks almost the same as what I do.
Do you have a photo. If I understand I might try your style next time too.

Here is my ramp setup that solved the problem. The main ramp is marked with the arrow. The other pieces were added and since removed.

There is a small ramp I add to the porch to get them into the coop as well. You can see it here, red arrow.

That back wall behind the ramp is hardware cloth (indicated with the blue W). The ramp is flush with it so the chicks can't fall off that way. If the door to the outside is closed it is also flush with the ramp. In reality, that door was usually open before the mums brought them outside.

 

[BY Bob]

I am now on the central Queensland coast. All the yards are about 3/4 of an acre. Mine is just over that. Anything that is available is only a few minutes away- only there's not much available. which means travelling an hour into our biggest centre for pretty much everything. Some people do it daily for work. Where something is several hours away [ like a chicken buy] people will agree on a midway point & meet there, thus halving the distance travelled. I have friends house sitting 2 hours away. They travel home each weekend. My drive up here was 9 hours- with 3 cats & 8 chickens! Outside of our big cities many Australians travel quite big distances as a matter of course. We have several who travel a couple of hours to attend church. Distances round here are so vast there are warning signs about fuel, rest stops, accident zones. I remember when I was in Europe everything seemed so tiny & many Europeans were shocked @ the distances we were prepared to travel in a day.

The US is basically the same. Long distances are traveled quite frequently by car. I just drove 5.5 hours to rehome my cockerel Versace and the people providing him the new home drove 2 hours.

 

[BY Bob]

Yes! We did Cairns to Toowoomba in one hit one year outrunning the monsoon rains.

I knew I had a lot in common with you Aussies. I need to add driving long distances to the list.

 

[BY Bob]

I can open the side door and make a wide ramp for it, with sides that keep chicks from jumping off. I can also close off the other entrances to the coop so they can't get 'under' Mary once she's gone up. I have plenty of logs around the place and will use one or two the same way you have so the babies can rest half way up.

I love this idea.

 

[BY Bob]

I have to admit, I didn't even blink @ 40 minutes. That's a commute in Sydney.

I used to commute that every day to the hospital for work. No biggie.