One chicken having trouble using ramp to go in coop

Chickory Chick

Hatching
6 Years
Jun 29, 2013
5
0
7
Hi! Hope you experienced chicken owners can help me. I have five chickens and am a new owner. One of the chickens always seems to have difficulty getting into the coop at night, coming out of the coop in the morning and doesn't go in and out of the open door during the day (food and water inside) like the other chickens. She doesn't use the ramp and tries to fly up or down from the door. Our ramp is 10 inches so she has room. She's a big girl (Light Brahma), but we made the pop door a little larger for her and she really can get through easily. She may not be the brightest girl, but she is sweet and beautiful and I'd like to know how to help her. Thanks for helping us.
Chickory Chick and the girls
 
Hi, Chickory Chick! We had a similar problem with one of our silkie hens. We used one of her favorite treats, noodles, to entice her to walk down the ramp and did the same thing to get her to walk down. It took her a few days, but she got the hang of it. I would definitely put water and food outside for her in the meantime. I'm not sure what the heat is like where you live, but it has been terrible here. Having multiple waterers encourages the birds to drink which is essential in this heat. Good luck!
 
How old is she? From my experience, younger chicks aren't that coordinated. If she is older, did she have a coop ramp where she grew up? If not and it is a new thing for her, give her time. In the mean time, make sure she has access to water when she is out. I think if I had that problem, I would pick her up and put her in the coop several times a day, then start making her walk a little bit of ramp- guiding(pushing) her up and keep doing that until she starts at the bottom and can walk all the way up. Since you say she is big, If she never had to go up a ramp before, it may be a matter of muscle strength.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom