Chickens escaping

[NiamhDriscoll]

Hello BYC friends! Me and my mom have a flock of 4. We have a run, and a free-range area fenced off from the rest of the yard. Recently, the hens were able to get out of the gate and dig out the garden. The fence is a plastic chicken wire type thing with a gate that works by latching one side of the fence to a pole. How can I make sure they cannot get out?

 

[FrostRanger]

Pictures?
Also know that chicken wire won't keep out most predators. A raccoon can rip through it very easily, hardware cloth is the better bet

 

[BigBlueHen53]

fence is a plastic chicken wire type thing

Is it loose at the bottom? How high us it? Could they have gone under or over it? Chickens can easily fly over a 4' fence if there's goodies on the other side.

 

[NiamhDriscoll]

Is it loose at the bottom? How high us it? Could they have gone under or over it? Chickens can easily fly over a 4' fence if there's goodies on the other side.

It is loose, we got an elastic rope to tie it. On the day that they got out, it was untied. I do not know how it was untied.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Pictures?
Also know that chicken wire won't keep out most predators. A raccoon can rip through it very easily, hardware cloth is the better bet

^^^^^ This is VERY IMPORTANT! You need to reinforce your fencing ASAP, before the neighbor's dogs or some other predator (like a raccoon) tears up that fencing and kills all your chickens. Cannot stress this enough. To keep your chickens safe, you have to fence them in like Fort Knox.

 

[NiamhDriscoll]

How should we get the hardware cloth stuck to the ground? Because of the extra weight, the attacking animal will be able to knock the thing down.

 

[FrostRanger]

How should we get the hardware cloth stuck to the ground? Because of the extra weight, the attacking animal will be able to knock the thing down.

I would reinforce the bottom of the fence with a beam of wood running along the bottom and you would attach the hardware cloth to that. If the run can be easily be knocked down then it needs to be reinforced so that it can't be easily knocked down

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You need good T-posts driven into the ground about 6' apart all the way around. Fold the hardware cloth (hwc) at the bottom and lay it on the ground, extending it out away from the chicken pen about 18" to form an "apron" all the way around, to prevent predators from digging. Cover it with a layer of gravel. Extend the hwc up at least 3'. That will keep raccoons from reaching through your fencing, grabbing a hen and trying to pull her through. Chickens can lose heads, legs or wings this way. Sorry to be graphic, but you need to understand what you are up against.