Use of space by domestic chicks housed in complex aviaries

•The goal was to determine how chicks (1–9 weeks) locomote in a complex aviary.•The aviary had elevated horizontal platforms/perches connected by ramps/ladders.•Chicks almost exclusively locomoted on the ground.•Surface use declined with increasing elevation.•Chicks used low elevated horizontal surfaces (perch, platform) as early as 2 weeks.