My chickens won't use the ramp...?

[WhitneyJo]

My trio of Australorps, (2 pullets and a cockerel) won't go up into the the nest box/roosting part of the coop. I am having to put them up at night and bring them out in the morning. They are 9-10ish weeks old.... any suggestions?

 

[kmom08]

How long have you had them out in the run/house? It took about a week for all of mine to figure it out. Once a few figured it out the others followed suit.

 

[townchicks]

The ramp might be a little steep, can you put the end up on something, such as a cinderblock, to raise it a little bit?

 

[WhitneyJo]

How long have you had them out in the run/house? It took about a week for all of mine to figure it out. Once a few figured it out the others followed suit.

Oh good, thank you! I had been putting them out during the day for about a week but bringing them back inside at night. Maybe they never explored the upstairs because they were so distracted with the outdoor world. They've only been out 24/7 for about 3 days now. Hopefully they will figure it out soon

 

[WhitneyJo]

The ramp might be a little steep, can you put the end up on something, such as a cinderblock, to raise it a little bit?

Good idea, yeah, I'll try that. Thanks!

 

[WhitneyJo]

I haven't got the brick in there yet to help make the ramp less steep, and I still had to put them to bed last night, but behold: This morning they came out by themselves so proud

 

[WhitneyJo]

They all put themselves to bed last night And the funny part is they didn't even use the ramp, just jumped right on in there , yay!!

 

[kmom08]

That's great! I was so excited the first time all of mine finally did it on their own. They're growing up

 

[thehenhouseinpa]

I've had my new babies in with the big kids for a few weeks now and some nights I am still putting them in but they all have eventually gotten the hang of it. Just takes some time and more for some others. I still have a drake that for some reason just decides to not go in with his lady everynight and some nights he does.