Free ranging my “younger” chickens

[metalmilitia400]

First post, I have 4 Americuana hens, about 16-20 weeks old, I’ve never let them out of the run and have had very little interaction with them aside from fixing a cut toe and feeding from the hand. One of them will let me pick her up without much fuss. The coop is a 3’x5’ shed with a 3’x8’ run which we built thinking it would be enough as it’s bigger than most bought coop/run combos you can buy. I have about a third of an acre and half of it is fenced close to the house with the coop inside of it. The fence is only a 3 ft wire fence you would get from Tractor Supply just to keep my dogs in. We put the dogs in yesterday and let the hens out for a bit just to see what they would do. I know they’re living animals and anything can happen but what are the chances of them jumping said fence? Should I be concerned? Thank you for the advice

 

[SueT]

Welcome to BYC! They can probably fly over the fence, but may be happy within the enclosure and not try. I'd try it. I might try wing clipping, search BYC for instructions.
They aren't going to run away, they will want to stay close to their home. If the dogs don't bother the chickens, that is a plus, they will deter hawks.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes...

 

[rosemarythyme]

Any possibility of building a bigger run or replacing the 3' fence with something taller? Even if you let them out on occasion, it won't make up for the fact that the run is about half the size as would be recommended at minimum.