Backyard run with 4' fence

[LD Jackson]

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I won't be keeping a rooster, so that doesn't concern me. As for a dog, the fence is pretty secure and we have no dogs running loose. Our town keeps a pretty tight leash on that.

 

[LD Jackson]

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Concerning the traffic, the road is blocked on one side by another back yard, much larger than ours, and on the other side, it is blocked by our house. I don't think that is a concern, given how our house and yard is situated.

 

[youngjedi32002]

I have a huge dog pen as my chicken run with 5 foot fencing. Everyone is very happy to stay inside. I only have 4 hens and there is plenty of room. But dusk is a different story. For the past couple of weeks, I have gone out to shut the door to the coop and keep them safe inside for the night and my Australorp has been roosting on top of the fence. She allows me to reach up and take her down with very little fuss but every night, she goes up there, while everyone else is happy inside the coop. A couple of nights, my Silver-Laced Wyandotte joined her but she isn't as consistent. Instead of "tucking the girls in", which is what I used to call it, now I have to "wrangle the chickens to bed"! Is this a trait of Australorps? I am just baffled. I am going to put a "top" on the run, probably with lattice panels, to stop her. Again, she lets me take her down and put her in very calmly but every night she is up there. My Buff Orpington and my Rhode Island Red have never tried it!

 

[bryan99705]

Trim one wing and keep them happy, you won't be able to chase them off

 

[youngjedi32002]

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My thing is that my chickens are just 4 months old. They haven't done their last molt to full-on adulthood yet. I have no problem with clipping wings, I just don't want to have to do it twice in a month! I think the lattice top will work. I wanted to put some sort of cover on the run enclosure anyway, in preparation for the winter and just added protection in general. The lattice will provide a partial cover, keep them in, but still allow airflow and sunshine! She does have a tendency to walk back and forth quickly close to the fence, at dusk, looking up the whole time. If she keeps up this behavior, even after the cover is put in place, I will clip, just to calm her. I figure if she knows she can't, she won't want to. Am I right with that thinking?

 

[MakNugget]

It shouldn't be a problem as long as they have enough things to keep them entertained.

I let my girls free range after work and weekends since Feb and they haven't found a reason to jump fence... yet. There's plenty of grass and bugs to keep them occupied.

 

[mysweetgypsy]

We used to have a run with a 6 foot fence and if the girls were bored, they were gone. It took awhile for them to leave the yard, but once they did there was no stopping them. They came in every night without fail, but they did wander into the road and to the neighbors during the day. The hosue we just bought is near a very busy road, so we are adding netting to the top of the run. As long as they stick to our yard, and the neighbors that don't mind, they can free range, but if they start venturing to the road they'll lose thier freedom ~ Good luck