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- #31
higgy62
Chirping
Grit is cheap and easy - will do. I'm sure the feed store will have some (I didn't notice when I was there last week). Good suggestions.
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Thanks - everyone laughed at me when I built the "coop-dominium", but ... happy chicks, right? Plus it looks awesome on my property.To help encourage them to go inside at dusk, use a flashlight, LED lantern, etc inside the coop. I have an LED lightbulb on a timer that turns on before dusk, and off again once everyone has time to get inside. You can do it manually yourself with the flashlight or lantern, they are less reluctant to go into a box if they can see in there. Just put it in there before dusk, and go back out and turn it off after dark or when they are all inside. I find it easier to train the littles this way, and my olders go in with less fuss and traffic jams too, so I just do it all the time. You have a nice set up!
My chickens will not go into their coop if it is dark in there. It is a small concrete building with only one window that faces east - so it is dark in there in the evening. they have been in that coop for 4 years.
I know this because once I came home after dark and they were all lined up on the ramps outside the coop all set to roost there for the night. The power had gone out during the day and since the lights are on a timer, when the power came back on, the timers were off by about 3 hours. As soon as I turned on the light in the coop, they all came in, walking in single file, got a drink, grabbed a snack and got on the roost. yackity-yack the entire time, telling me that the situation was unacceptable and will not be tolerated again.
If they can jump up on a cinder block, Get Rid of the Ramp.Yes about steep, I am thinking I'll put another cinder block down, or perhaps two making a nice step at the bottom.
Also, you make a really good point - I was thinking about the wire mesh today - I wondering that too. Note, I have it screwed down really well, BUT... you are most probably right - this could become a real problem.
The reason I put the 1/2" wire mesh down is that the board is an old shelf from my closet. It is a VERY smooth 1x10 - 6 feet long. I was thinking it could be cleaned easily as it is nicely sealed and makes a good ramp, but it turns out that it is very slick.
I was thinking ... I could leave the mesh there and then spray over it with some skid-resistant paint and/or rubber spray. It drys pretty solid and is still rough. But then was thinking that might chip off, and the chicks might eat that... which would not be good. I could use some kind of rubber cement to seal it all up... I dunno
Doubling up on the cleats is easy enough, but it is still pretty slick.. Maybe I'll just rough it up using a sander and/or put some non-skid tape on there. I'll experiment over the weekend and advise what I came up with.
Thanks for the comment!!
good idea!If they can jump up on a cinder block, Get Rid of the Ramp.
Just put some blocks there to make them a set of "jump up" steps. It's good exercise for them, encourages wing use and they can't hurt themselves that way. By the time mine are about 4 weeks, half are flying up to get home or jumping from a block, to a bucket and then into their house. When you start to find poo all over their waterer, they are flying up there roosting. Put them a small branch, broom stick or something about a foot of the floor. They will investigate and they will figure it out.