So I have an old barn that I want to turn into a giant chicken coop and there is already a large fenced in portion outside the problem is the fence is like four feet high and I cant have chickens all over the place, dont want to be walking in poop, too many predators and a very busy road in the near vicinity and all. So is there any way I can keep the hens in with some modification of some kind like extending the fence up or a canopy of some kind. The fence is attached to the barn and is about 25 x 30 4 high. So anyone ever do anything like this before or have any ideas please let me know or better yet post some pics. Thanks everyone.
Quote:My fences are about 4ft tall. Most of my chickens are happy to stay in and have no desire to flee. I think it may have alot to do with the breeds I keep. Also, if your concern is just about keeping the chickens in you can clip their wing feathers.
Mine is nearly 6' tall. If they want out, which is rare, they flap and climb the fence with their claws; height wouldn't matter. Mostly the #2 roo would do this to get out when #1 got too pushy for him. I agree, though, mostly they don't bother; my yard is about 70' x 70' and I usually have about 15-30 chickens. I do open the yard and let them wander where they want a lot of days, though.
They will fly over pretty much ANY fence if they WANT to, regardless of height. *Will* yours want to? Who knows. One thing that supposedly helps -- I have not tried it myself but it works generally pretty well with other smaller critters so I am quite willing to believe those who use it successfully with their chickens -- is to have the top of your fence NOT have a rail or other very visible element. Just being the top of the wire mesh, you know? So that they know something's up there but it's hard to judge exactly where it ends, and so it is not just crying out to them to fly up *onto* to perch. So you might try adding a 1-2' extension on the top of your existing fence, just wire sticking up with maybe a piece of 2x4 sistered in at each fencepost to help support it a little so the whole thing doesn't flop over. It will not look very Martha Stewart but is likely to *work* Good luck, have fun, Pat
Our hens have 6' foot no top rail and stay put easily. 6'x10' is covered in shade cloth. The roo's are with the goats and have standard fence (again no top rail) they all stay in but 1 roo, we clipped his wings to keep him with the other 3.
Hey thanks everyone, I'll think about some different "roofs" I can add on, I think thats the best way to go we have a ton of hawks here, the run I have now has deer fence over the top and I've seen a few hawks hit that and bounce off.
