Fence Height

[ILoveJoe]

What is the best fence height for standard breeds of chickens? My pullets are a mix of BR, GLW, SLW, BO, BA, LB and EE's. My rooster a mixed breed faverole has already demonstrated that the 4 foot fence can be mastered and he is putting himself in the corner with his head in a red cedar tree. I was under the impression that big heavy breeds can't fly that high, maybe as young birds, but not as adults.

We are going to fence off an area behind the coop that will be approximately 25 x 50. Should I get the 6 foot 2x4 welded wire instead of the 4 foot tall?

Front of the coop:

Back area that still needs to be fenced, we have removed the one dead tree in the middle:

Temporary Rooster house aka Hoss's House:

On top of the 4 foot fence:

 

[gumpsgirl]

After a lot of thought on my part, I'm going to go with the 6 ft. high fence. Not just because they can fly over the top of the 4 ft. high one, it's because I want to cover the top. Can you imagine trying to get around in a 4 ft. high run that is covered? No thank you! I prefer not to have a backache every time I clean out the run. The 6 ft. just seems to be more user friendly!

 

[ILoveJoe]

Would you cover the top of an area 25 X 50? I had hope by covering the front I could let them "free range" in the 25 x 50 area.

Hubby is gonna kill me and all these darn chickens!

 

[gumpsgirl]

So are you just fencing in a free ranging area? Why are you fencing it in, just to be curious? Are there dogs around that you are trying to keep out? When I let mine out to free range they just hang around the coop or not far from it. Sometimes they venture into the front yard, but that's not to often. If you need to keep other animals from getting them then go ahead and fence it in, but I wouldn't worry about covering the top. I would, however, stick with the 6' high fencing for extra protection.

 

[KellyGwen]

I got the 2x4 welded wire at 6 foot tall so I could walk around in there with them and CLEAN! I used bird netting to cover the whole thing and ran a half buried border of 1" chicken wire around the whole bottom to keep diggers out. I'm not REALLY worried about predators getting through the netting at night because all of the chickens are locked up every evening. I also hung some old CDs around the netting - dangling on wires - to confuse any hawks that might be peeking in. It's worked out so far!!

 

[ILoveJoe]

Quote:
I am fencing in a free range area to protect them from dogs, coyotes and traffic since we are on the corner of 2 roads. Where I live people just let there dogs run loose and there are alot of them around. I have seen a very large coyote lately, much larger than my shepherd dog. My chickens will be locked in the shed at night also.

I know several people that say just let them out, they'll come back to roost. But you lose more birds that way. I am looking at these girls as an investment that I am trying to protect, apparantly against EVERYTHING!

Should big birds be able to get up on 4 foot fencing?

 

[ILoveJoe]

Quote:
That looks really nice. And you also have trees inside your area, I do have a few trees that I would need to net around I suppose.

I am liking the 6' fence, at least on the side facing the road and the pasture. I can leave the 4' which is existing on the one boundary which is also my back yard. I think I may net around the back of the coop and under the trees, just to keep critters off the top of the shed. The cats like sitting up there.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[keljonma]

6' high fencing.

Better get some 4' high 1/2" or 1/4" hardware cloth to surround the bottom part of your run walls. Chicken wire and 2 x 4 welded wire won't keep predators out.




edited: if I could just spell!

 

[ILoveJoe]

Quote:
Originally this was going to be a relatively cheap project.

 

[scooter147]

My experience with standard breeds is that a four foot high fence will stop the majority of the standard breeds. However, I have some that easily make it to the top of a cabinet in the coop that is 4 1/2 foot high.
I think some hens are just more determined or should I say not as lazy as other hens when it comes to flying over fences.
My fence is 6 foot high and this is mainly for my ease of entering the run.