fence suggestions...

[Folly's place]

You can get taller fencing, and the higher the better!
Mary

 

[21hens-incharge]

.....wondering quietly if a hoop tractor would be practical and provide better protection.....

 

[Folly's place]

'Fences For Pasture and Garden' by Gail Damerouw (SP?).
Excellent book, used to be available on several sites, and I just found it at Amazon.
Mary

 

[Willowru]

Thank you. You've provided important details. Do you have the ISBN number for the book?

 

[Folly's place]

Nope, but it was easy to locate by asking for books on livestock fencing. Inexpensive, too.
Mary

 

[Willowru]

.....wondering quietly if a hoop tractor would be practical and provide better protection.....

I've considered a tractor. It's not ruled out yet. The most protection they need is from their own sense of unlimited freedom! I want to give them as much space and freedom as I can while keeping them from the road. Also, with the horse and donkey on about 2/3 of my acre, I really want them to access to all those pesky bugs!

 

[CindyinSD]

I use 2x4” 6’ tall welded wire fencing on my runs (woven wire is stronger) Turkeys will jump up and roost on it, but only where it’s tarped (makes it look solid). My chickens do not, but they’re all fairly large breeds. Smaller birds might jump out. I skirt the base with 1/2” hardwire cloth to keep chicks in and predators out, but that wouldn’t be reasonable to do in a perimeter fence. If I were to perimeter fence my property for poultry (it’s barbed wire now) I would use 2x4” 4’ tall welded and, if necessary I would add a floppy length of chicken wire around the top. They won’t try to perch on that and are unlikely to even attempt going over. This is not for predators—only to keep chickens in. For predators there would be electricity involved and that’s a different discussion. (BTW, only electrify fence intended for that purpose!)

Keep in mind that if your ground is uneven or sloped, that‘s going to add extra complexity. With a fence of this size you’ll need some wooden posts (about every 10 t-posts or more as needed, plus corners and corner reinforcement —very important— and gates of course.) You can rent a gasoline 2-man auger (or buy one). I wouldn’t dig all those holes by hand given any alternative at all, but we have rocky soil. Look at other people’s fences and notice how they do corners and gates. Take pictures. Buy a book. Watch YouTube videos. There’s a lot of good info out there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I didn't notice if you said what breeds you have, but practically any of them can fly a lot better than many people think if they want to. The trick is to make it so they don't want to. I use 48" high electric netting and it keeps mine in (with certain exceptions I'll get to) but mine also have no problems flying up to a 5' high roost. It's a matter of want to, not if they can.

One common problem is that chickens like to perch. If the top of your fence or your fence posts look like a good place to perch they may fly up there just for fun and who knows which side they are likely to hop down on. So try to avoid creating good perches for them. T-posts and a wire top are good choices.

I second the 2" x 4" welded wire fence as a good choice. Several years back I found 5' high no dig kennel wire at Tractor supply, about $150 for a 150 feet roll. Haven't seen it since but they might be able to order it for you. I can't remember what gauge it as, pretty heavy. It's made like chicken wire. The joints are twisted, not welded, but the gauge is heavy enough it can stand up to big predators. The holes are about 1-1/2" which certainly keeps chickens in, though baby chicks might be able to get through. I used it around my garden.

You said you are not that worried about predators. Without an electric fence it's next to impossible to keep them out of an area as big as you are talking about without spending an extreme amount. Many can climb over any fence you put up and many can squeeze through just a small opening under your fence, even without digging. Your chickens might be able to squeeze under your fence too, especially if you are on uneven ground. In an area as big as yours that probably won't be a general problem unless the opening is pretty big but it might show up if they like to hang out in a certain area,

I also support the advice on getting a book (online or buy) on how to build a fence. T-Posts are fine as intermediate posts but you may need a stronger post every so often to keep the wind from blowing it over or more likely horses, cows, or such from pushing it over if they are trying to graze on the other side or use it as a scratching post. Corners and gates are a special problem. You will need braces to keep those posts upright. A fencing book should show you how to handle that.

Now the exceptions I mentioned above. When I have a lot of cockerels in there, they fight at certain stages of puberty. If one gets trapped against a fence and is desperate to get away it goes vertical and can easily come down on the wrong side. That can also happen when a pullet or hen is trying to get way from an amorous male, but that is extremely rare for me. I learned two tricks to deal with that. One is to avoid sharp corners. A 90 degree corner works OK but any corner sharper than that tends to cause traps. If you can go wider than 90 even better.

I once set my electric netting up in a configuration where I had a corridor about 15 feet wide. The number of cockerels going over exploded. When I reconfigured to an area about 40' wide escapees became really rare. As big as your area is I can't envision this being an issue for you but I'll mention it.

As big as your area is I can't see them wanting to escape but you might get one that is really adventurous. When I tried keeping them in a 12' x 32' run one hen learned she could get out, probably trying to get away from an amorous rooster. So she started getting out every day and taught two others to go with her. I ate the instigator and modified that run to make it harder for them to get out. You don't get guarantees with behaviors so anything can happen. You could probably keep yours in with a 3' high fence, but I'd go for a minimum of 4'.

If appearances are that important to you try painting the fencing black. It will come close to disappearing. You might want to try that only at critical points to see how hard it is and how effective it is. Painting with a roller is probably easiest.

Good luck!

 

[Willowru]

I use 2x4” 6’ tall welded wire fencing on my runs (woven wire is stronger) Turkeys will jump up and roost on it, but only where it’s tarped (makes it look solid). My chickens do not, but they’re all fairly large breeds. Smaller birds might jump out. I skirt the base with 1/2” hardwire cloth to keep chicks in and predators out, but that wouldn’t be reasonable to do in a perimeter fence. If I were to perimeter fence my property for poultry (it’s barbed wire now) I would use 2x4” 4’ tall welded and, if necessary I would add a floppy length of chicken wire around the top. They won’t try to perch on that and are unlikely to even attempt going over. This is not for predators—only to keep chickens in. For predators there would be electricity involved and that’s a different discussion. (BTW, only electrify fence intended for that purpose!)

Keep in mind that if your ground is uneven or sloped, that‘s going to add extra complexity. With a fence of this size you’ll need some wooden posts (about every 10 t-posts or more as needed, plus corners and corner reinforcement —very important— and gates of course.) You can rent a gasoline 2-man auger (or buy one). I wouldn’t dig all those holes by hand given any alternative at all, but we have rocky soil. Look at other people’s fences and notice how they do corners and gates. Take pictures. Buy a book. Watch YouTube videos. There’s a lot of good info out there.

This sounds like good advice! If I go with four feet high, 2x4" wire fence, what distance apart would you suggest I place the t-posts?

 

[Willowru]

I didn't notice if you said what breeds you have, but practically any of them can fly a lot better than many people think if they want to. The trick is to make it so they don't want to. I use 48" high electric netting and it keeps mine in (with certain exceptions I'll get to) but mine also have no problems flying up to a 5' high roost. It's a matter of want to, not if they can.

One common problem is that chickens like to perch. If the top of your fence or your fence posts look like a good place to perch they may fly up there just for fun and who knows which side they are likely to hop down on. So try to avoid creating good perches for them. T-posts and a wire top are good choices.

I second the 2" x 4" welded wire fence as a good choice. Several years back I found 5' high no dig kennel wire at Tractor supply, about $150 for a 150 feet roll. Haven't seen it since but they might be able to order it for you. I can't remember what gauge it as, pretty heavy. It's made like chicken wire. The joints are twisted, not welded, but the gauge is heavy enough it can stand up to big predators. The holes are about 1-1/2" which certainly keeps chickens in, though baby chicks might be able to get through. I used it around my garden.

You said you are not that worried about predators. Without an electric fence it's next to impossible to keep them out of an area as big as you are talking about without spending an extreme amount. Many can climb over any fence you put up and many can squeeze through just a small opening under your fence, even without digging. Your chickens might be able to squeeze under your fence too, especially if you are on uneven ground. In an area as big as yours that probably won't be a general problem unless the opening is pretty big but it might show up if they like to hang out in a certain area,

I also support the advice on getting a book (online or buy) on how to build a fence. T-Posts are fine as intermediate posts but you may need a stronger post every so often to keep the wind from blowing it over or more likely horses, cows, or such from pushing it over if they are trying to graze on the other side or use it as a scratching post. Corners and gates are a special problem. You will need braces to keep those posts upright. A fencing book should show you how to handle that.

Now the exceptions I mentioned above. When I have a lot of cockerels in there, they fight at certain stages of puberty. If one gets trapped against a fence and is desperate to get away it goes vertical and can easily come down on the wrong side. That can also happen when a pullet or hen is trying to get way from an amorous male, but that is extremely rare for me. I learned two tricks to deal with that. One is to avoid sharp corners. A 90 degree corner works OK but any corner sharper than that tends to cause traps. If you can go wider than 90 even better.

I once set my electric netting up in a configuration where I had a corridor about 15 feet wide. The number of cockerels going over exploded. When I reconfigured to an area about 40' wide escapees became really rare. As big as your area is I can't envision this being an issue for you but I'll mention it.

As big as your area is I can't see them wanting to escape but you might get one that is really adventurous. When I tried keeping them in a 12' x 32' run one hen learned she could get out, probably trying to get away from an amorous rooster. So she started getting out every day and taught two others to go with her. I ate the instigator and modified that run to make it harder for them to get out. You don't get guarantees with behaviors so anything can happen. You could probably keep yours in with a 3' high fence, but I'd go for a minimum of 4'.

If appearances are that important to you try painting the fencing black. It will come close to disappearing. You might want to try that only at critical points to see how hard it is and how effective it is. Painting with a roller is probably easiest.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your experience and advice! I have 2 RIR and 2 Plymouth Rocks. In a few months I'll probably add another hen and I'd like to have a rooster again. I'd like to find ones that need a new home. But that's another topic!

Immediately when my favorite hen died from being hit on the road, I desperately tried to contain them by wrapping and staple gunning flimsy 2 feet high chicken wire around some trees. I was devastated and had to do SOMETHING. I used what I had immediately on hand. I've been amazed at how small of a space they can squeeze under -ground is very unlevel-but have not flown or jumped over....yet. (its been 11 days) What's your opinion...do you think 3 feet high with a foot or so of flimsy chicken wire on top would be adequate?

You ate the instigator!!? I gasped then chuckled. I realize that I have 4 pet chickens that happen to provide eggs.