Flying problem

[feather13]

I honestly prefer my birds flighted. I have never clipped a wing. My minorca wanted to be elsewhere and left me over it. I just think it helps them survive the winter hawks we have around here. 6-10 foot walls are a non issue for my chickas. I also have feral hens that adopted us so it worked out.

I wouldn't mind ours being flighted, but we live in a very densely populated suburb of LA and I don't think my neighbors would love chickens roaming all over their yards (not to mention we have a number of stray cats and dogs and coyotes, opossums and raccoons). The EFs and Minorca could survive, I'm pretty sure, but they are now luring the other, less feral pullets up and over the wall, too lol.

 

[feather13]

Yes, try locking them in the coop for a couple days. Then when you let them out they are so overjoyed with their freedom that they typically won't go for the fence for several days.

I don't clip wings much anymore, but when I did the chickens never were able to make it over my 5 ft fence again. (They actually started digging under ).

In my experience, bantams are almost always more flighty (minus silkies). But after they turn a year old they typically give up. I have never had problems with year-old hens flying fences.

Anyways, best of luck in whatever you do!

Thanks, all, for your replies and advice!

And thanks, @PioneerChicks, for your advice! I'm glad to know that our chickens might stop wanting to escape after they turn a year old. We had an OEGB years ago that was really independent and would fly up on the neighbor's garage and leave for days, but never had a small group of ringleaders leading the rest of the flock of standard sized pullets over a 10 ft fence

 

[3KillerBs]

I wouldn't mind ours being flighted, but we live in a very densely populated suburb of LA and I don't think my neighbors would love chickens roaming all over their yards

I have to applaud your sense of responsibility.

 

[DobieLover]

Who owns the fence? If it's your fence, I would staple a row of 1' tall chicken wire to the top with a few 2x2 uprights to staple it to to keep it from flopping over. You want to stop them from landing on the top of the fence. Then they can't get over.
When I first confined my birds, I had to clip wings on my entire first flock. Both wings on nearly all birds. Primaries AND secondaries on many to keep them from flying up onto the gate tops. Once they all got accustomed to staying in their 1/3 acre pen surrounded by electrified poultry netting, they stopped trying to escape. All subsequent generations have never challenged the boundaries and I have some very good fliers in the flock. I have never again had to cut wing feathers. I do not like doing that as it hobbles them and slows their escape from predators.
All cut wing feathers will be replaced during the next molt or two.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I wouldn't mind ours being flighted, but we live in a very densely populated suburb of LA and I don't think my neighbors would love chickens roaming all over their yards (not to mention we have a number of stray cats and dogs and coyotes, opossums and raccoons). The EFs and Minorca could survive, I'm pretty sure, but they are now luring the other, less feral pullets up and over the wall, too lol.

Yeah I can see how that would be an issue. You could always go to silkies as well mine cant jump up more than a foot and they are decidedly ground dwelling chicken. Sumatra though are tree dwellers and easily go feral.

 

[aart]

I don't think my neighbors would love chickens roaming all over their yards (not to mention we have a number of stray cats and dogs and coyotes, opossums and raccoons).

More reasons to.....

Do you think it would help if I left them in the coop and run for a few days?

....keep the in there full time.

 

[PioneerChicks]

Thanks, all, for your replies and advice!

And thanks, @PioneerChicks, for your advice! I'm glad to know that our chickens might stop wanting to escape after they turn a year old. We had an OEGB years ago that was really independent and would fly up on the neighbor's garage and leave for days, but never had a small group of ringleaders leading the rest of the flock of standard sized pullets over a 10 ft fence

Any time, friend! I

Ah, OEGBs. Pure trouble! Though now my hen goes under the fence instead of over. She can for through anything! She is sweet though, and doesn't eat much, and every once in a while she lays me a tiny egg. That's why I keep her.

 

[feather13]

I have to applaud your sense of responsibility.

Thank you! Some back story: the first time the EF jumped the fence I went to the neighbor's house to ask if I could go through the backyard to retrieve her (I didn't think they'd like to see a stranger scale the fence and chase a chicken around their backyard lol). The elderly woman who answered the door clearly had Alzheimer's or memory/dementia issues. She also told me that her husband (who was somewhere in the house) had recently tried to shoot her sister. So my anxiety is half pet responsibility, half fear of personal safety

 

[feather13]

Who owns the fence? If it's your fence, I would staple a row of 1' tall chicken wire to the top with a few 2x2 uprights to staple it to to keep it from flopping over.

Thank you! Great idea. I don't know who owns the fence (not sure how to find out; generally I've found that neighbors here each pay half to replace one), but don't see why it would be a problem to put up chicken wire on my side. I've never seen the neighbors in the backyard and it's just a big patch of dirt. I've not seen them jump the wall on the other side (where two dogs live in the backyard full time) and the other side is our fully enclosed coop and run.

 

[feather13]

Yeah I can see how that would be an issue. You could always go to silkies as well mine cant jump up more than a foot and they are decidedly ground dwelling chicken. Sumatra though are tree dwellers and easily go feral.

Good idea! Thanks for your reply. We've had *terrible* experience with Silkies because we have Mareks in our flock and they seem particularly susceptible to it. But then again maybe the vaccine would work with them. We've had Silkie hens and a rooster before and they were quite sweet and good stay at home birds.