Everything about chicken ingress/egress has been a problem. The floor of the roof coop has a hole, through which they are designed to pass, according to my specs. (Don’t even get me started on my woes with the chicken door.)
The chicken door is four feet off the ground. I just assumed that whatever solution I set up with them would be fine. Since they are BIRDS and have WINGS and can FLY.
Boy was I wrong on that one.
If they are downstairs in the pen, they do not want to go up into the coop. If they are up in the coop, they do not want to go back down.
Every morning for the last three days I have coaxed them out the chicken door after I wake up. I herd them into reach with a broom, pick them up, place them on the ramp, then put my hand on the back of their head (cop-loading-suspect-into-car-style) to keep them from turning around and coming back up.
Every night for the last three days I have put them back into the coop at bedtime. I crawl into the pen, sit on a bucket, pick them up one by one, put them on the ramp, and use my hands to herd them upstairs.
This is getting old. Here is the current iteration, which I built on my lunch break today. Because who WOULDN’T want to spend their lunch break building a chicken ramp?
This is the fourth, and so far most successful ramp. Or I should say, least-unsuccessful. They weren’t happy about being ushered up and down it, but they also didn’t totally lose their shit like they did with the other three. With the squawking and the flapping and the frantic kicking and the “OH MY GOD YOU ARE TRYING TO KILL ME!!!”
In classic software engineer fashion, I have decided that the problem lies not with the device but with the users. Based on some stuff I read at my source forum for all things chicken, I’m going to try establishing a routine. I will sweep them out of the coop in the morning, and push them up into the coop at night, and see if they catch on. Because that is a PERFECTLY GOOD ramp, which would work JUST FINE even if you didn’t have WINGS and could FLY.
Martha says, “Pew pew pew!” (I’m sure they will start clucking soon. Every once in a while I hear a proper cluck. But for the most part, they still say “Pew pew pew!”)
The ramp looks a little steep for chickens their size
“In classic software engineer fashion, I have decided that the problem lies not with the device but with the users”
Freaking lol!
Yeah, that user interface is a bitch. The ramp looks a little steep to me, too, but hey, what do I know. Routine is good. I hope the dumb clucks (yeah, I crack myself up) catch on quickly.
The ramp is way steep, and very few chickens I have known would want to do 4 feet all in one fell swoop. I have perches at about 2 feet and 4 feet, and the birds fly off of them to roost in the rafters of their shed.
Furthermore, they really can’t fly into a hole. They don’t have good aim when flying. You may be able to train them to do what you want, but I don’t think what you are asking comes naturally to a chicken.
Aww, I was afraid everyone would say that! The problem is that if I want to lessen the slope, with the geometry of the coop… I’m not even sure how I could do it. Sob!
I keep telling them, “Those eggs had better be f**king delicious!”
omg lasers! pew pew pew!!!1
definitely user error. You need to upgrade…or something.
Can’t wait for your first eggy post
good luck
I like her sassy stance!
Can you lure them with treats?
Perhaps break it down, like stairs with a little landing. But then again, what do I know about chickens? Cluck.
Totally LOL
Here’s the problems:
a) Chickens may have wings, but they can’t fly for crap…
b) Chickens are remarkably resistant to change.
a) Chickens are really dumb.
The solution? I’d just wait them out – instead of herding them, let them work it out themselves.
I thought of a couple of ideas that are a lot of work but really couldn’t be much more than you are already doing!!
1. Build another coop and attach it to the side of the pen, instead of incorporating the coop with the roof.
2. Modify the pen so that what is now the side will be the top, so it’s more of a horizontal rectangle instead of a vertical one. Here’s a picture of something similar: http://www.flickr.com/photos/86571141@N00/130587512/