Fencing off the Garden - How high?

[DenverBird]

Its the first spring with the flock and we're planning out our garden. We plan to fence off the garden and are wondering how high a fence to get. None of the hens fly more than a couple of feet off the ground for short hops and the only time I've seen one go over a 3-ft fence she was fleeing from something.

How high is a good height?

thanks,

-DB

 

[Higins00]

My hens are really good about not going over the fences. I have a 3 foot fence around my flower bed and they respect it. Every once in a while I catch one over it but for the most part they don't go over them at all.

 

[bluegoose]

I use a 4-ft fence it works good for all my birds all of mine are big stock and fat so they cant fly to high.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I use 4 ft and it's worked for all but one of my hens over the years. Rita just liked to wander at times. It also helps to plant some things on their side of the fence for them to forage on, to keep them busy and more satisfied.

 

[wendyrun]

Ooh excellent post! We were just about to do the same. We ended up not getting fencing this weekend b/c we realized we have not fleshed out this idea. We are thinking of fencing our girls in our back area that is under tree cover so we can keep them out of existing beds, make a veggie garden, and keep the poo off the patio. But I want gates so we can let them out into the grassy part of the yard for occasional insect removal

 

[HHandbasket]

I have a makeshift fence of 3-foot-high chicken wire around my garden to keep the girls out of it. It seems to work fine, but I keep a wing clipped on my girls anyway just to keep them in our yard.

 

[jennh]

I have LF girls, and they can jump/fly over my 3 ft fences.

I'm switching to 4 ft this spring.

Jen

 

[Fred's Hens]

If the chickens have access to acres and acres, they will likely not bother with 4 or 5 ft fencing. They typically CAN fly up to 6 ft, if they need to, but if they are content, they'll quietly go about their business and not bother wasting the energy. They do seem to be able to find any breach in the fortress and are excellent invaders if they know where the smallest breach is.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I really agree that a lot of it has to do with their level of motivation, more than ability. I've had chickens roost in the rafters of the coop occasionally, that never went over the fence. One of mine went through a really high opening while covering the top of the run, but she's never gone over the 4 ft high fence.

Rita, that went over 4 ft fences occasionally, still did it even after both wings had a full clip. She jumped like a grass hopper.