Spacing for treads on chicken ladder?

[Heathercp]

The ramp is finished, but I still need to attach some kind of treads (those little wooden strips). At least I think do. All the other chicken ladders I see have them.

But I don't know how far apart the treads need to be. Anyone have a suggestion? 8" apart? 10"? Less? The ramp is pretty shallow and it's made of t1-11 that's yet to be stained. It's pretty rough as is, so I don't think they'd be likely to slip and slide. The cat just tried out the pop door and found it satisfactory. I can't wait to see what she does when she meets the chooks.

We're almost finished. Just a bit of trim and paint and (the permanent nest boxes) and we'll be through. Yippee! I hope it warms up here soon. It'll make that last little bit of work so much nicer. We've had almost nothing but rain, snow and cold for this build. I think it'll all be worth it when we get our first eggs. I hope so, at least.

 

[ranchhand]

Looks very nice, great job!

Love the color.

You probably don't really need cleats with the ramp being so shallow, but if you want some to help when it's wet, every 6-8" is plenty.

 

[domino7]

I don't know how high the door is, but I bet they won't even use the ramp. I think they'll just fly up at the end, but yea, 8" should be good on the spacing I think.

 

[SunnyDawn]

I use treads and I spaced them about every 6-8 inches but my ramp is a lot steeper than yours. With that gradual of an incline I wouldnt even bother with treads.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

I staple hardware cloth to my ramps. Works great!!! Just be sure there are no sharp edges.

 

[gsim]

I did 4" spacing on mine. I used a daub of liquid nails glue under each cleat. Then I soaked it with old motor oil by brushing it on extra heavy with a paint brush. Next day, I installed it and by then it looked like it had been stained. It was made using pr treated decking board, but I added the oil for longer life and easier cleaning. Just shoot it with a hose and voila! Poop gone!. By the way, yours is at the right pitch. Some are way too steep. And another poster is correct when he says that they will likely hop in and out. You will see a lot of that, or will see them taking a short cut and hopping up to near the top of the run. Mine do and their walkway to their nest shelf is 2 ft ht.

 

[MareeZoCool]

Great job you did on your coop! Those windows are fantastic.

 

[CityChook]

Looks nice. I'm with ranchhand - I'll bet they don't even use it. But I'd still put some cleats on it anyways. At first, I didn't put cleats on my ramp and the girls would slide/fall down it on their fluffy booties. I thought it was hysterical - them, not so much.

BTW, 6-8 inches should do the trick. If it was me, I'd probably shorten it by half, add cleats and put a brick underneath the end where it meets the ground. This would keep it from flexing/bowing with age/use. But that's just me.

Great job!

 

[Heathercp]

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to have my son put the cleats on for me. We'll use his dad's pneumatic brad nailer - I know he'll have a blast. My son's 11 and loves power tools just as much as his dad does.

I know the ramp is pretty long, but it won't ever sag. I'm pretty sure of that. DH reinforced it with a 2"x4" on edge running the length of the board. My guy is from Germany and likes to build things that will last FOREVER. He's not a carpenter (or electrician, or plumber, or brickmason, or cabinet maker, or tile layer, or flooring specialist, etc...) but after 20 years of "honey-dos" he's amassed a pretty remarkable skill set. I don't know what I'd do without him. He has told me, however, that if I ever want to move again, I'm going to have to find a new husband.

 

[Msbear]

Quote:
YUP