chicken yard ??

[dadsgirl]

i have been told that you can build a chicken yard and not put a top on it and the chickens will not fly out.
has anyone heard the same thing? interested to know..
thanks, angie

 

[beak]

Our run is 6 ft high without a top. I made the mistake of putting some hay bales against the coop for insulation and they figured out they could get on those. Next step was over the roof. So I removed the bales. They had tasted freedom though so then they figured out what the wings were for. we had to clip their wing on one side only. Turns out if you clip both sides they can still flap them fast enough to fly jump over the fence. If you cut 1 side they go crooked and can't do much.

So yes you can keep them in without a top. Just make sure you don't have large hawks and that they are too big for smaller hawks to fly off with. Don't leave them out at night. Owls get pretty big and predators get real determined when they have 8 hours to get at them without worrying about humans around.

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

I would not feel safe for my chickens if no top on it..something might get them..

 

[Chicken Woman]

All you need is bird netting to keep them in.

 

[gkeesling]

my run has fence that is 7 ft. high and I don't trust the chickens from flying out. Plus, we have hawks and owls around. I'm going to put either deer or bird netting over the top of my run as a safety measure.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

My backyard is surrounded by a 6' privacy fence. I've had a flock back there for three years. When the birds are about six months old they can clear it, but as they grow older they get heavier and quit trying. With my first flock there were several weeks when I was continually retrieving the same two or three birds who had figured it out. I've only lost one to a neighbor dog over the past three years. I suspect that since it is a solid fence most have no urge to go over. If they could see through it and realize they could be on the other side, it could be more of a problem.

I let them run back there all day, they put themselves up at night and come on out of the coop in morning. The fence is tight though, no critters get in and the surrounding neighbor dogs keep most critters out of the area anyway.

 

[allisojo]

I have a 7-ft. fence in what I consider to be a pretty big run, and my ladies stay put. Some snacks in the am and pm keep them satisfied. I would feel a lot safer with bird netting, though, and I think I'll get some of that this weekend.

 

[ranchhand]

Seeing as how you're in FL, I suggest a cover, to keep the hawks and owls out. Just a net will work.

 

[cmom]

I live in florida. I have RIR's. I have two coops and two runs. the run for my big girls is covered more for shade in the summer. There are pictures on my BYC Page. I did have some netting over the big girls run before I covered it. My othe run is not and is attached to the nursery coop. I have both runs connected to a fenced in yard area for the birds. So far I haven't had anyone try to fly out except like a previous poster, I had a milk crate next to the fence and a couple figured out they could fly over the fence by getting up on the milk crate, so I moved the crate. I give them some treats in the mornings when I let them out. I used to leave their pop door open and they had access 24/7 to the yard until I lost one. Also I have electric wire around the yard as I had a preditor (I think it was a dog) kill one of my big girls and I caught a possum trying to get into my big girls area and a skunk going after my little girls.