At the end of my rope with fence jumpers!! Help

[katelk]

About a month ago I put the "chicks" I hatched in the spring in the big yard with the rest of my flock (all around 1-1.5 years old).
Over the past week or 2, these young ones have developed a SERIOUS issue with jumping the (4ft) fence around their yard.
Literally, I will go chase them back in and before I can even get back to the house, they are back over the fence. I can't get anything done because I am constantly chasing them back in. I have tried just ignoring them and letting them get it out of their system and roam for a bit, but they go out to the driveway and start to leave!
I have tried putting up wire to knock them back when they try to jump up, I have put metal cookie sheets on the fence to make noise and scare them when they jump up, I have tried putting branches on top of the fence to make it taller. Nothing works!! They are like fearless Olympic high jumping as*holes!!
Can anyone give me any ideas about what to do? I am losing my mind

 

[boskelli1571]

Naughty little buggers!!

Have you tried stringing twine/wool/string haphazardly across the top of the pen - zig zag, side to side etc.? The idea is to interfere with the ability to make an attempt by making smaller gaps - it also works well in keeping hawks out..........

 

[katelk]

Naughty little buggers!!      Have you tried stringing twine/wool/string haphazardly across the top of the pen - zig zag, side to side etc.?  The idea is to interfere with the ability to make an attempt by making smaller gaps - it also works well in keeping hawks out..........

I wish it were that easy! Their yard is huge and has a barn and a walk-in coop in it. It makes no since that they are constantly trying to fence hop because they have a giant area to roam already.
They don't even do anything once they get on the other side either. The majority of the time they jump over and then just pace the fence line back and forth trying to get back inside. That wouldn't be horrible if I wasn't scared of a dog getting them or the occasions where they do decide to run away from home. They need chicken straight jackets

 

[aart]

They are probably trying to get away from the older, dominant birds.

Are they landing on the top of the fence before they go over or flying all the way over without touching the fence?

Add a couple feet of chicken wire, loosely attached so it's floppy if they try to land on it, to heighten the fence.
AND Clip their flight feathers off of one wing if they are fully grown in....how old are they, 6-8months?

 

[katelk]

They are probably trying to get away from the older, dominant birds.

Are they landing on the top of the fence before they go over or flying all the way over without touching the fence?

Add a couple feet of chicken wire, loosely attached so it's floppy if they try to land on it, to heighten the fence.
AND Clip their flight feathers off of one wing if they are fully grown in....how old are they, 6-8months?

Most of the time they land on the fence first, but I have also seen them hop up onto an AC unit (not something I can move of course) and then just sail over the fence from there.
I wondered if it was then trying to get away from the older birds, but they were in the yard together for a couple weeks or so before this started, getting along fine. Also, since this started, sometimes one of my older girls will go with them. She did not start this, but I have had issues with her jumping in the past. She seemed to "grow out of it" and hasn't done it in ages until now. I will see what I can do about the chicken wire idea this weekend.
How long before those clipped feathers come back? Are there any risks to clipping?

 

[centrarchid]

Clip both wings tight. Regrowth will start next summer.

 

[Primo]

You said you tried a wire. How did you do this? Did you run a wire directly above the top rail of the fence about 6"? Chickens are less likely to make the leap unless they see a clear roost at the top. This is why field fencing works so well. No top rail.

 

[katelk]

You said you tried a wire. How did you do this? Did you run a wire directly above the top rail of the fence about 6"? Chickens are less likely to make the leap unless they see a clear roost at the top. This is why field fencing works so well. No top rail.

Yeah. They act like the wire isn't even there. They just step around/over it and push it over, etc.

 

[LanceTN]

Clip primary flight feathers on one wing.

This throws them off balance in flight and discourages them from trying to fly.

Clipping both wings simply reduces the lift they generate and if they are getting over the fence easily most likely will not stop them.

 

[boskelli1571]

I wish it were that easy! Their yard is huge and has a barn and a walk-in coop in it. It makes no since that they are constantly trying to fence hop because they have a giant area to roam already.
They don't even do anything once they get on the other side either. The majority of the time they jump over and then just pace the fence line back and forth trying to get back inside. That wouldn't be horrible if I wasn't scared of a dog getting them or the occasions where they do decide to run away from home. They need chicken straight jackets