Chicken flight versus fence height... need to clip wings?

[barkinghills]

Some of our fences are quite low also, maybe 4 ft at best. We also have heavy vines growing on the fences that some chickens use as escape ladders. Drat! I nned to trim them up, but the flock loves hanging out under them for shade and cover. I have several Ameracaunas who love going over the fence. I've had two black stars in the past but I don't think they went over much if at all. I've had trouble with Red Stars, and of course my white Leghorns were over the fence constantly! I gave most of them away to someone with taller fences because they were destroying our garden. In our case they have a free-range acre so it's not a matter of space, but outside their fence is a really lush shady garden filled with soft mulch and redwood bark, so they want to come out where the grass is always greener! It does seem that if you can "train" them with one good wing clipping that grounds them, they lose interest and don't try to go over the fence once the feathers grow back in, so at least that's a bonus.

 

[eleaserek]

My Easter egger, Noodle, was able to get to the top of our 6 ft fence. But only once, and only because she was TERRIFIED!! My brand new yearish old kitten chased her up there

however, she's the only one out of my five chickens. They all did take to flying over a shorter, 5ish ft fence, so I clipped one wing on them all once, but have never needed to repeat since they seemed to have gotten over it.

 

[SueT]

Bird netting over the top of our pen worked for me...it comes in 14' widths and is stretchy. Very inexpensive.

 

[Exotica]

I don't know about how flighty those breeds are, with the exception of the Australorp. In researching to get ours, we saw that they are not especially prone to flightiness, which is one of the reasons we got one of those in our flock. I don't know anything about the Black Sex Links, Cuckoo Maran, or Easter Eggers, but I am sure somebody here on BYC does! Hope you get a useful reply!

Thank you!

My cuckoo Marans and Easter eggers can fly over a 6 foot fence if they have something at the top to land on.

Oh man, I have small trees that can reach near the 6 foot fences. I'll have to clip their pretty wings ): Event though my Easter Egger chicks are only a few days old, they are already flapping around!

 

[beginnergirl]

I spent a lot of time worrying about my hens flying over the fence. But they haven't. They haven't even flown over a 3' high temporary fence protecting my garden. They love the yard.

I want to give them a chance to escape from a predator. Someone on BYC posted to clip wings IF there is a problem. As my birds got heavier, they don't seem to fly as high. But it is all new to me. So far my hens (SLE, BR, EE) are content in my yard. Fingers crossed

 

[Exotica]

I spent a lot of time worrying about my hens flying over the fence. But they haven't. They haven't even flown over a 3' high temporary fence protecting my garden. They love the yard.

I want to give them a chance to escape from a predator. Someone on BYC posted to clip wings IF there is a problem. As my birds got heavier, they don't seem to fly as high. But it is all new to me. So far my hens (SLE, BR, EE) are content in my yard. Fingers crossed

I'll take your advice! I'm just worried because my neighbor has a huge Pit Bull next door in his yard and he is not a friendly one! If any of my chickens hop over that fence, he's getting a luxurious dinner! Also I have trees they can jump on to get over there but once they are over there I'm not sure if there is anything for them to jump on back ): My neighbors are also mean.. they'd kill any chicken on sight just to spite me, I bet! But the predator thing does concern me. I guess I will just have to wait and see!

 

[amiachicknorwat]

It seems apparent to me that chickens are not escapers cuz they're flock adherents. They do take flight to escape predators, so need their wings and compromising them by clipping can hurt your efforts to protect them. They tend to fly away, but not so much away from the ground. Putting up something to extend the height of your fence at vulnerable points also protects more vs predators while maintaining the chickens escape strength if you dont clip. Of course, here too I mean escape from predators. Good Luck

 

[beginnergirl]

I'll take your advice! I'm just worried because my neighbor has a huge Pit Bull next door in his yard and he is not a friendly one! If any of my chickens hop over that fence, he's getting a luxurious dinner! Also I have trees they can jump on to get over there but once they are over there I'm not sure if there is anything for them to jump on back ): My neighbors are also mean.. they'd kill any chicken on sight just to spite me, I bet! But the predator thing does concern me. I guess I will just have to wait and see!

I have one neighbor with a wild and crazy German Shepherd and another mean neighbor who raises and eats meat rabbits. So I am also concerned and understand the worry!
Do what you need to do to keep your hens safe. If there are times the dog is not in the yard, try letting your chickens out then. I decided I would supervise my hens while they are outside because of raccoons and hawks.

 

[RIRlover14]

I have 3 12 week old RIR's and I don't have anything accept a 6 ft fence to keep them in didn't know if they were a flighty bird? Just wondering I I end a bird net or not:/ thanks

 

[beginnergirl]

Don't know about RIR, but I had the same concerns. I have an EE, BR and SLW, now about 21-22 weeks old. On BYC I received advice to clip one wing IF there was a problem. My fence is 6' with a couple of 4' high gates and 4' back fence with no where to perch. My girls have never tried to escape or fly to perch on the gates. They seem to love the yard. Lots of places for them to forage with finished compost pile. I was told they will have a better chance of getting away from a predator if their wings aren't clipped. My EE might be the only one who can fly now but not sure. They all flew fairly well when they were lighter girls.... LOL. My neighbor clips all her girls wings as they have flown out of her yard.

Maybe supervise them to see if they stay put. I'm keeping my fingers crossed my girls stay put. But there is so much here for them. Knock wood

I am with them 95% of the time.