How high should a roost be for chickens with clipped wings?

[ConPollos]

Ok, Thanks.

That's a really neat coop, by the way. I love it.

No matter how high your run fence is, your run will need a top cover to keep hawks and owls (that do hunt in the daytime) from swooping down and killing or carrying off your birds.

 

[AmyLM]

Just put aviary netting or deer fencing over the top of thier run and they cant fly out. Safer for them that way too.

 

[junebuggena]

Even my heaviest hen (6 lbs) can easily jump 3 feet. No actual flying ability is needed for a chicken to get over that fence. The roosts in the coop are a bit too narrow for most brown egg layers. They need about 4 inch wide roosts. And you'll need at least 16 to 18 inches of roosting space per bird. Also, if the nest boxes are at the same height as the roosts, they may develop the bad habit of sleeping in the nest boxes instead of on the roosts. This will cause early morning eggs to be very, very dirty and gross. If space is an concern for you, avoid Easter Eggers. There is a huge size range for them since they aren't a standard breed. My smallest Easter Egger is maybe about 3 1/2 pounds. My biggest girl is over 6 pounds. The larger the bird, the less likely it will be to get over that fence. If you choose to go with a heavy breed, find a good breeder. Hatchery quality are usually much smaller than birds that meet the breed standard for size. A bigger breed will need a proportionally bigger coop and run, so you will have to keep fewer of them than other lighter breeds.

 

[moflip78]

At lowes they have netting they sell for $15 14ft x 100ft ...i use it to cover my pond too...its not easy to see so you might even becable to use it as an extension to heighten fence...

 

[KMPACHICK]

If the fence posts are spray painted black and your deer netting is black the fence will be totally invisible until you're 10 feet away from it.

My EEs have been flying since they were born, so they probably would fly out.

3-1/2 feet is not high enough to keep neighborhood pet dogs or predators out, so you'll have to put at least two strands of hot wire around the outside of your fence.

Or make a chicken yard with a high fence for your birds.

I disagree. I live in the country with natural predators and have acres of woods that include coyotes, Fischer cats, minx, birds of prey, etc. Our fence is about 2.5-3 feet high and the chickens have never been bothered. The ones that do fly over (2) come right back to the coop if a predator is nearby. Don't leave the coop door open in the evening for them to roam unless you're home to supervise and put them up before the sun goes down and they should be just fine. Of course this also depends on available food for the predators but overall if you raise chicks to be in by nightfall they will come in on their own. They don't want to be left out anymore than we do. Good luck!