Advice

[armu]

Hi all,
I need a little advice. I have two chickens and have always given them free range of the garden and yard, however I had a nightmare yesterday when they escaped over the 7ft wall and into a neighbour's garden, I had no clue where they'd gone! When I eventually heard them I practically had to break into the neighbour's garden to get them out! Really don't want a repeat performance as I'm pregnant and not keen on having to intrude on other people's properties! So I'm looking at buying a run. I'd build one but with the winter coming (and the baby lol) I need a quick and convenient fix. Saw this on amazon, do you think it would suffice?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RABBIT-ENCL...HUTCHES/dp/B004QRO8LK/ref=pd_cp_petsupplies_1
Thanks

 

[JackE]

I would think a quicker (And much cheaper) fix would be to clip a wing on each bird. If they are standard sized hens, that should cure them of going over 7' walls.

 

[write2caroline]

Clipping doesn't always work. I had some very clever birds that were always getting out when they should not.
To clip the wings you gently pull the wings out and with sissors you trim off the feathers not close to the part in the wing because that can bleed.
My silly girls just jumped up on other things to get to the promised land.

Your covered run is probably a better idea.

Caroline

 

[yogifink]

Why not put some netting on the fence to keep the girls in?

Think about tall fences with barbed wire on them at an angle to keep people in or out. Do the same thing with a bit of low visibility netting. We did it around our 4' fence it it does the trick.

 

[JackE]

Clipping works for me, and I only have a 4' high expanse of poultry net containing them. It might be just me, but I would sure try it before spending $$$$ on a little birdcage to keep them in.

 

[yogifink]

Heres a few shots of our fence line. You can barley make out the aviary netting!

 

[armu]

I'm a bit scared to do clipping in case I hurt them lol they're surprisingly sgile, I had no idea chickens could jump so high! Do you think that an enclosure that's only 2ft high is ok? I know taller is better but it's quite hard finding something that won't cost hundreds :/

 

[armu]

That fencing on the top looks great but I don't think it'd work with my garden as it's brick walls :S

 

[yogifink]

24" is fine, not any different than the polyface coops. I just would not use it 24/7.

If your fence is brick, does it have a flat top? Why not do something just like the above but at a right angle?

That bird netting was only $15 for 100 feet.

 

[armu]

The main issue with our walls is that our house is part of a terrace so it's also kinda the neigbour's adjoining wall, which the birds have used to jump up on and walk along! Which is how they got into the garden a few houses down the terrace lol so really I need a way of keeping them in our garden space without interfering with the adjoining wall of next door, if you see what I mean. Think an enclosure with a roof is probably the best way to do this just don't want the chicks to suffer on space too much.