fence and flight

[Neilette]

You could always clip the wings of any "escapees". It's a pain to clip multiple birds; so, as I'm in the same situation as you, I chose heavy and flightless breeds. (If I keep my Ameraucana/EE, she will remain clipped.)

Also, are you certain that your seven cats cannot jump your chicken fence?

I have an EE which looks to be a Wyandotte mix, and she's quite grounded! So it depends on the build of your birds. The bulkier, the less height.

 

[gryeyes]

Both Lowe's and Home Depot sell "bird netting." A 14 ft wide, 75 foot long roll of it is $19.95. That's pretty inexpensive. It will keep your chickens inside your run; if you attach it securely (no gaps) the local birds like sparrows, finches and crows won't get into the run to eat the chicken feed.

It will also slow down a hawk, perhaps tangle it enough to allow the chickens to get to safety before it gets untangled or tears through it. I consider bird netting to be the LEAST one should do for run protection from above.

P.S. - My EE rooster freaked out one day whilst free ranging OUTSIDE of the run. He was right next to the run fence and my little dachshund rushed him from behind. The roo leapt straight up into the air, flapped his wings, and flew over the fence and INTO the bird netting. It held his weight and he flapped, bounced and rolled across the netting for about 10 feet before I could get inside the run and physically tear a gap into the netting to let him out and down into the run, safely. It will surely keep the chickens IN the run.

 

[delfargo]

on an average day, the chickens would be out of the coop and in my fenced in area from 3 pm till they go in the coop at night. on the weekends i'm guessing they will be out all day (except in the snowy dead of winter). do you guys think that is enough "outdoors time"? i just don't think covering the run is going to work out (for a number of reasons). plus, i think i'll build the fence a little higher (6', maybe 7'). what do you think?

 

[3chimama]

I have 3 one year old Ameraucanas and they always fly over the fence to dig around for bugs and such in my horse pasture. I have several cats on our property and they have never been a problem. The girls always come home before dark to be locked in at night.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
Simply put, no.

 

[father-clucker]

I visited a members house yesterday to checkout her setup and she lets hers out all day long -- out in the mornings and back in the hutch for the evenings. During the day they roam the yard. She has clipped only one of hers that's on the bigger side as that bird did get up on the 5-6' fence once so I gather. They just clipped what appeared to be about 4-6 feathers making a rectangle in the outer edge of one wing.. I gather that's enough to sufficiently lose lift and to keep the chicken from flying and it isn't visible if they don't flap their wings..

 

[Bossroo]

You definately need an overhead heavy wire or solid roof over your pen to discourage flying predators as will as 4 legged ones. My next door neighbor had a barn owl snatch several full grown hens in their back yard in the late afternoon. We even had a hawk snatch one of our cats basking on a deck railing not even 6 feet away from me. Neither the cat, 3 friends, my wife or myself were ever aware of the hawk's presence, only after the cat was firmly in it's talons and flying off with the cat screaming bloody murder.

 

[KKatknap]

Quote:
I think that might depend on the size of their coop as well. I mean, in all fairness, some chickens spend their lives in a cage and do just fine. So sure. If you have a decent sized coop, with good ventilation and windows, and give them something to do (goodies to scratch around for, sandbox to dust bathe in, etc), I think that would be ok.

 

[delfargo]

thanx kkatknap, yes, the coop is large for the amout of birds i'm thinking of (12-15). 9' x 15' with lots of windows. if my math is correct, that's about 9 to 11 sq.ft. per bird. it's not like they'll be packed in there like a tin of sardines in olive oil. of course i'd LIKE to be able to have them out all day, it's just not an opition. neither is covering the 25' x 35' outside area. so thanx for the advice, y'all.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
10 sq. ft. is the recommended minimum for chickens that do not have access to an additional outside area so you are actually below or at the most a very, very little bit over that bare minimum. If you decide to move forward you will also want to keep in mind that the birds people reference when they are talking about birds kept in cages and doing fine are bred for that purpose -- to tolerate confinement. And even they very often suffer in one way or another for having been confined all the same. The only exception to that rule are show birds who are kept caged, but many times those birds are intensively managed and heavily tended to. It is not a matter of them being kept in close quarters with other birds, they are kept caged for cleanliness and their environment is closely managed so as to remove undue stress and prevent inter-flock problems that arise as a result of confinement. If you do go the confinement route certainly be sure to choose breeds that are known to tolerate confinement and be prepared, because breed characteristics are a guideline not a promise -- especially with hatchery birds -- to re-home any that do not tolerate your set-up.