Backyard Chickens - Free Range Troubleshooting

[Folly's place]

Make sure that electric fencing is legal where you live, if not, don't buy it.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

We have about .5 acre yard

That's roughly 100' X 200 '. A lot of room for 7 chickens. They do not need all of it.

there are a few issues I’m trying to troubleshoot. 1) They are pooping all over our patio and driveway, and that is starting to get frustrating. 2) They are also starting to scratch and dig and essentially ruin some of our landscaping/flowers which my husband is upset about because he enjoys our landscaping that he worked hard on. 3) Also, they sometimes get in the neighbors’ yards and I don’t want to upset anyone.

The answers to these are

1. Fencing
2. Fencing and
3. Fencing

Whether you fence them out of certain areas or keep them fenced in to an acceptable area is up to you. I suspect keeping them fenced into a specific area will be easier and less expensive for you.

I'd consider fencing around the coop (or at least that run door) instead of trying to transport them from the coop to the enclosed area. Pay attention to gates and doors so you can get access as you need to.

How do you keep the chickens from hopping over the fence? Do you have a roof over it of some sort?

Chickens can fly much better than many people believe. My run is about 4 feet high and my chickens (similar to the breeds shown in the photo above) fly up to my 5 feet high roosts without a problem. The trick is to keep them from wanting to fly out.

Chickens like to perch. If the top of your fence is a rail that looks like they could land on it they can fly up there to perch. You never know which side they will fly down on. So try to not have any top rail or even a fence post sticking up where they can land. To me, that is very important.

Another thing is to try to avoid sharp corners. If a chicken is in a pecking order fight and is trapped against the fence, it may go vertical to get away. They can easily land out of the run. I'm usually OK with a 90 degree corner but if the angle gets smaller the number of escapees can go up.

For the same reason, small areas can be a problem. I tried making a 10 feet wide walkway from the gate to the bigger run area. The number of escapees went way up. There was not enough room for one to go to the coop from the run while passing another without them getting into a fight. These were mostly immature cockerels so they tend to fight but sometimes it was a hen trying to get away from an amorous rooster that caused the problem.

I had one flyer that would fly in and out at will, but generally stayed with the flock during the day.

Good point. Occasionally one will learn that they can fly out. I had one that did that every day. I stopped her by eating her before she taught others to go with her.

With chickens you do not get guarantees with regard to their behaviors. But sometimes you can improve your odds greatly by following a few little tricks.

Good luck!