There is a big difference in what chickens can fly or jump over and what they will fly or jump over. It’s called motivation. (Key in Frank Sinatra singing “High Hopes”.)
I’ve kept chickens (full sized adults) inside 4’ high electric netting. I never had one get out by flying over. One got out through the coop door one day. When I was trying to herd her back to the coop door, she felt put upon and flew back over the netting to get back inside with her buddies. She was a two year old full sized hen and cleared that netting by an easy foot.
I’ve kept chickens in a run with 5’ high sides. The chickens stayed in there without a problem for about a year. One day, a hen went over the sides and out to freedom when she was trying to get away from an amorous rooster. Once she learned how to get out, she did daily and taught two of her buddies to go with her. I raised the sides of the coop by another three feet. The chickens stay in.
Pay attention to what Bee said. If the chickens have a top rail on the fence they can land on, they will hop/fly up there because they like to perch. There is no telling which side they will hop down on. If you do not give them a place to land on top of the fence, they are a lot less likely to get out.
The feathers will grow back whenever they molt. An adult usually molts once a year but a juvenile will molt twice from the time it feathers out until it gets its adult plumage. They simply outgrow their feathers and have to grow new ones.
We built our run and used 4 ft. chain link fencing, that we got for free. Our plan is to make a canopy to keep them in and to keep hawks and other predators out. MY question is this...We are thinking we will have to put hardware cloth or chicken wire part of the way up the bottom and as an apron around the base of the fence, is this the way to go or can we just do with the chainlink fencing if we put raised beds around the perimeter.? Our coop is 8x8 and the run is 35'x10' for 8 chickens...is this a sufficient size?
That is a real good size for that number of chickens. Others will tell you that you can put more chickens in there, and they will be right, but I find the more room I give them the less hard I have to work. I think you will be real happy with that size for 8 chickens. You can add more if you want. That extra size will make integration easier. Or if one goes broody and you let her hatch chicks she could raise them in there.
The only problem with raised beds around the chain link is that the chickens will reach through and eat the stuff within reach. I’d personally use the cheaper chicken wire to keep their heads in.
