Roosting perches too high for chicks??

[rosemarythyme]

Rats can jump up a couple of feet if properly motivated, i.e. put one in a bathtub for a bath and watch it fly out!

 

[sirrobyn0]

Yes that's right. Pretty much a short wooden ladder meant for keeping blankets hung on. I was going to say a one-sided ladder...but the ones that don't bend are one sided lol

Good point. How high do you think a rat can jump? Probably could get up to a first roost at a foot high. I'm thinking now I might go with the block idea.

My opinion, I'm sure they could jump the foot. In my coop, I have never measured my roosts, but I'd say the lowest one is about 3 feet high. I brought up the rodent issue only because I have had off and on issues (seems to have curtailed since doing a hardware cloth skirt). But still you never know those critters can be very intrusive.

 

[sirrobyn0]

I've been trying to figure out how to pharse this, but I think some folks may have missed my point earlier. I said "The reason I wouldn't want a ladder to the roosts is that they can also be used by rodents to get on the roosts. It might not be an issue right now, but if you stick with chickens long enough you're liable to have rodents trouble somewhere along the line." As those of us that have been around for a while most likely know rodents are a common pest / predator with chickens. I know for me at least when I had trouble with rodents I didn't really realize I had trouble with them until I had quite a population. Just in the same way we don't leave our coop / run doors open all night, to keep out predators, I wouldn't want the OP to inadvertently to give a potential rodent an easier path to the roosts. That was all I meant.

 

[aart]

I understood the ladder/rodent thing, just don't think it's that big of a concern when looking at the big picture.
The need for a ladder or ramp for the birds, due to coop configuration, far outweighs the possibility of rodents being present or needing a ladder to access birds.....they can scale nearly bare walls and jump a foot or more. When you think of the things that might 'assist' rodents, ladders/ramps is far, far down the list, if on it at all. We don't want people thinking that having ramps/ladders is an invitation to rodent attacking their birds. Rats and mice are far more interested in the feed or eggs than the birds(unless you're talking big rats eating chicks).

ETA: The Op never did provide pics of situation so we could offer a viable solution.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you have Silkies that cannot fly, then you may need ladders, steps or ramps. My two-week-old chicks have no trouble flying up 2 feet and horizontal 3 feet when the broody hen tells them to but mine can fly. I was lucky enough to see her take them to the roosts, it was obvious they could have gone a lot further if they had needed to. At five weeks yours should not have any trouble flying up a meter or two if they want to. Your problem is that they may not want to, if that is a problem.

Each brood is different and we all have different set-ups. My brooder raised chicks normally start to roost at night around 10 to 12 weeks of age. I've had some start just after 5 weeks and some that take a lot longer, but 10 to 12 weeks is a good average for mine. With different conditions you may get different results. By "roost" I mean sleep on the roosts at night. They may start perching on the roosts during the day, but that is just play. Roosting is different than perching.

I don't provide ladders or ramps. To me they are unnecessary and just get in my way, cluttering up the coop. But my coop is big enough that they have plenty of room to fly up to the roosts and back down. If you don't have enough room in the coop for them to spread their wings and fly without banging into nests, feeders, waterers, or something else you may need ramps, ladders, or steps. Or if you have birds that cannot fly.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I put my chicks in the coop at 4 weeks. They slept on the ground in pile the first night, but I was worried about a snake finding them, so I went out the next 3 nights and put them on the roosts one by one. The first night I went out too early, and they just jumped back down, so i went out after it was more dark and did it again.

Night 2 about a third roosted on their own, and I had to assist the rest, and if I recall correctly by night 3 I only had to help a couple. After that they all had it figured out.

I have a small ladder as pictured, and they all used this in the beginning. I figured I would take it down once the birds were grown, but I built it to be out of the way, so I might just leave it.

I watched them going to roost the other night (at around 9 weeks old) and most all of them flew up to the bottom 2x4 board above the metal ( which is about 72 cms off the ground) and then up to the lower roost, and then up to the top roost, a few used the ladder... all end up on the top roost ( as expected ) .

Note I have standard size and a few bantams, and none of the bantams are using the ladder currently, just a few of the standard sized birds.