We recently had to add another feature to our chicken coop, as our chickens were not using both laying boxes. I've watched a couple chickens act like they can't get into one of the boxes, even though I have seen a few of the others jump up in there from the ground. Our other box has a roost near it for easy access. And that's the one where we kept finding all the eggs. So we decided to add a ladder that would provide not only easy access, but also a couple extra roosting spots. Have I ever seen a chicken on the ladder? No. Are they laying eggs in that box again? Yes. Slowly, but surely.
I used some scrap wood we had recently picked up, but you could do this project with just one 2"x4".
To start, you will need to cut the sides of the ladder. I didn't actually measure this piece, but it ended up being about 21" long. Cut the ends of this piece both at a 45 degree angle, but where the angles are turned into each other. If you want this measurement to be more precise, you can figure out how high you want the ladder to be on your wall and then measure at a 45 degree angle all the way down to the ground. Make sure you cut two of these pieces exactly the same.
Next, cut 3 pieces (or more if you need them) of wood to 14", or however wide you want the roosts to be.
To make sure you attach the roosts in a way where they are level with the ground, use a right angle next to the top edge of the side piece and draw a line. Then draw every other line indicating where the roost will go parallel to the first line you drew. If this is a little confusing, make sure to check out the video where it's easier to see what I did.
Attach the roosts by using screws from the outside of the side pieces. I used two screws at each end. Now you ladder is done! Now for how to attach it to the wall...
I attached hinges to the end of each of the top pieces.
Once you've attached them to the ladder, put it on the wall where you want it and attach it by the hinges.
We wanted our ladder to be able to be lifted up so we could clean the bottom of the coop really easily. I attached a hinge so it could stay put in the upright position.
And here is the chicken coop with all it's roosts!
We hope this is helpful for you and your coop! We have a really cool coop project to share really soon, so come back to see what else we are adding to make the coop even more efficient.
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