fly over fences help?

[lex381]

hi this is my first time raising chickens. i have a fenced of section of grass and the fence is about 4 feet high. will the chickens be able to fly over it?

 

[kcfuerst]

Yes, they surely will. Try clipping the flight feathers from only one wing as short as you can without cutting the quick. This will usually make them lopsided when they try to fly and they can't get any air. It could be that even with clipped wings, your birds can jump that high.

 

[lex381]

thanks cause i have a dog that runs outside the fence!!

 

[sillybirds]

How big is the fenced in area? Is it too large to cover with netting?

 

[patandchickens]

Whether they fly over a 4' fence is entirely dependant on their whims. If it is a very large area with plenty of interesting grass and bugs inside, they might stay. If it's smaller, goes to dirt, or they just think something elsewhere looks interesting, nearly all breeds (except silkies) will have an easy time getting over.

I would be equally or more worried about the *dog* going over. He may never have gone over the fence before but flappy squawky foody-smelling "toys" on the other side are a powerful enticement. An awful lot of people have chickens killed by their own dogs, even when they were SURE (and sometimes said so for years, on BYC) their dogs would NEVER touch a chicken.

So, probably some work needs to be done from *both* perspectives.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[lex381]

silly birds,
yes, i think it is to large to cover with netting

 

[lex381]

patandchickens,
the dog cannot get over the fence. she has tried, but cannot. also, the area is grass, with a lot of interesting stuff so i dont think they would fly over, like you said

 

[Cetawin]

Oh 4 ft will not slow them down...I have several that clear my 6' chain link so I ended up putting a bird netting over the top to keep unwanted birds out and them in!

 

[big greg barker]

you can get nylon bird netting from Lowe's for about 12 bucks for a 100 foot roll. It is 7 feet wide, so cut it in half lengthwise, and you will have 200 feet of net to string up along the top of your present fence. That's what I had to do, even though my runs are big enough to give them all kinds of room.

 

[newchickmom]

I haven't had a problem with my chickens flying over the 4 1/2 foot barnyard fence. They haven't even tried. I do know, if they are startled, they could fly that high though, so their run fence is 6 feet and they can't get over that.
They are a little on the FAT side though.