Ramp In Coop?

[JacksHomestead]

In my coop if have a Ramp to get to the roosting area, i made a second level where the roosting bar is (2x4) that will hold sweet PDZ and sand mixture, allowing easy clean up. My question is will they use the ramp to get up or just try to fly up? I have a wood border around the upper level to hold in the PDZ and sand. I will put wood on the ramp so they can walk up easier, how thick should that would be and how far should i space them, to make it easy for them to get up?
Thanks, Jackshomestead!

 

[junebuggena]

In my coop if have a Ramp to get to the roosting area, i made a second level where the roosting bar is (2x4) that will hold sweet PDZ and sand mixture, allowing easy clean up. My question is will they use the ramp to get up or just try to fly up? I have a wood border around the upper level to hold in the PDZ and sand. I will put wood on the ramp so they can walk up easier, how thick should that would be and how far should i space them, to make it easy for them to get up?
Thanks, Jackshomestead!

It all depends on how high the roosts are, how far apart they are, and how much room they have inside the coop to spread their wings. For most small coops, a ramp just takes up space. Most chickens can easily jump 3 feet, but if they can't extend their wings, they won't.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

The roost and poop board in our coop is probably about 48" from the floor. There is a ramp and they use it most of the time. Our chickens are large and other than flying up/down if something scares them, they prefer using the ramp.

 

[bigt447]

I use 1 inch wide,1/4 inch thick strips nailed to ramp about 6 inches apart. My coop is also 48 inches off the ground. My ramp is 10 ft long for a gradual incline. Works great.

 

[Hokum Coco]

In my coop if have a Ramp to get to the roosting area, . My question is will they use the ramp to get up or just try to fly up? If it is less than 3 feet high I suspect they will just fly up. I have a wood border around the upper level to hold in the PDZ and sand. I will put wood on the ramp so they can walk up easier, how thick should that would be and how far should i space them, to make it easy for them to get up? Minimium ¼ of to an inch to maximum one inch. Oops space them about 4 to six inches apart should be fine.
Thanks, Jackshomestead!

A good rule of thumb in a perfect world:
Make your ramp twice as long as the drop which would give you a 6/12 pitch and an angle of 22.5º.
"A 4x4 block attached to the end of your ramp to make a step up will do a lot to reduce the slope also."

 

[JacksHomestead]

thanks for the help, it is less than 3ft so if they dont want to use it they can just fly.

 

[aart]

The hard part is can they get down without flying into something.
My roost boards are 2 feet wide and 3' high, but coop is only 6' wide so needed a ramp,
some jump/fly, some waddle down ramp.