purpose of raised entry to coop with ramp?

[LauriInWA]

Hi there. I am in the process of building my coop and I noticed a lot of coops have the door up high with a little ramp, is that something to do with predators or is that only on the raised coops? I am building my coop in my old horse stall and I plan to cut a small entry door in the stall door and I wonder if I should put it up a couple of feet and make them a little ramp or just make it where they can walk through? I plan to make them a small fully wired in run that they can always go out to and then also have a gate I can open off of that on nice days to let them wander about a half of a fenced acre. Thank you

Lauri

 

[Chick Charm]

Mostly because the coop is raised. You can put on ground level for sure.

Chickens don't seem to mind the ramps though until they get old.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Cut the door a few feet above ground level and build your ramp with a hinge on the top bottom edge of the ramp. That way you can easily raise the ramp to close the door once your birds are safely inside. A button to turn and hold the ramp in an upright position is all the lock needed. This also keeps you from having to bend all the way over to check on your birds.

 

[ECBW]

Coops are often off the ground for 1. keeping the wood off the moist soil, 2. more room for the chickens to roam, 3. shades for the chicken. A ramp is a convenience feature. I have used a perch and the birds would hop up and down on it to get in and out of the coop.

Predators will get in with or without a ramp. A door is the only way to keep the predators out. I have a secure run so my pop door is normally open.

 

[jetdog]

The higher the hole/door is the more bedding you can put in the coop without it all falling out onto the ground and making a mess.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I have a raised coop for shade and area to store food under. If the coop was on the ground like your horse barn I would still raise the door for bedding inside and above snow line outside.

 

[Beekissed]

Hi there. I am in the process of building my coop and I noticed a lot of coops have the door up high with a little ramp, is that something to do with predators or is that only on the raised coops? I am building my coop in my old horse stall and I plan to cut a small entry door in the stall door and I wonder if I should put it up a couple of feet and make them a little ramp or just make it where they can walk through? I plan to make them a small fully wired in run that they can always go out to and then also have a gate I can open off of that on nice days to let them wander about a half of a fenced acre. Thank you

Lauri

Nope...don't put it up a few feet. It's not necessary and only creates work for you. You can give them a little lip to climb over...as one poster said, it will help contain your bedding choices.

 

[henless]

I'm using 2 of my horse stalls to make an open air coop/run. Right now, I'm not putting up a pop door since they will have full access to the under roof run. In a few weeks, when I build the outdoor pen, i will put up a pop door. It won't be right on the ground since I plan on using the DLM (deep litter method) for my coop. If your not using the DLM, just make sure it's high enough to keep your litter inside and not block your door.

 

[LauriInWA]

Thank you everyone. I think I will just cut their little chicken door about 4 inches up then so they don't drag the bedding out. I am just going to cut their door into the full sized horse door. Its a metal building and the inside of the stalls are lined with plywood, I have concrete floors and I still have the stall mats in there. The stall is 10x12 and the ceiling goes up forever. Do any of you use pellets for the floor? When I got my chicks at the feed store, they were using pellets and it seemed so much cleaner than the shavings I am using, I am constantly getting shavings out of their waterer and feeder. I used pellets for the horses stalls and loved them, just want to hear any pros or cons? Also, just curious, do you often end up with a few roosters even though they are all supposed to be hens? I guess that is probably hard to say, just hoping I got all 10 hens. Thank you again! Lauri

 

[JanetS]

We bought 6 chicks and we have 6 hens...Good luck!