Height of fencing?

[bethielynn]

How tall does my fencing need to be around their run to keep them in?

 

[karl E lutz]

6' is a good height .Of coarse you have to put a top on your run to keep the hawks out and the smaller birds in.
Meat birds R reds and so forth do not fly as well as leghorns and smaller birds.

 

[woodsygal]

I have a 4 footer using wire fencing and tpost. They can't balance on the wire so the only place my flyers could get out was on the gate and I've added height to that. However, if you're surrounding your wire with lumber then they'll use it to get over a 4 footer.

 

[thomasboyle]

I have a 42" fence around my chicken yard, and while they could fly over it, they never have. My guineas on the other hand fly over everything, and like to perch at the peak of the shed roof which is 18' off the ground.

 

[wsmith]

I have had chickens and turkeys fly over my 6 ft wood picket fencing. I installed an additional 2 ft of nylon mesh above the fence and no more flying chicken issues. The turkeys however have clipped wings now.

 

[iheartnh]

My pullets were clearing a 6" fence with ease. Added 2 feet of supported hardware mesh to the top. Chicken Alcatraz.

 

[scooter147]

It really depends on the breed, age of the bird and size of the run. I think a 6 foot high is more than sufficient for the heavy breeds, although pullets and cockerals can clear it if they want. Once the heavy breeds start to lay and put on a little fat it is too high for them.

Make sure that you have nothing that can give them a boost over, such as a feed can or outdoor roosts. So they can't jump up on the object then up on the top of the fence.

Make sure your fence is straight and well supported. I once had a five foot high run and had to clip wings to keep them in, well I would come home and about half of them would be out running around. I then decided I had to find a hiding spot and watch what they were doing.
There was a spot between two posts that was not taught enough and they would jump/flap their wings and get as high as they could on it and it gave just enough that they simply walked the rest of the way to the top and jumped down to the other side.

 

[karl E lutz]

well put scooter. the chickens even when fat love to get as high as possible and can jump very high.

 

[zeiset777]

I have 5 foot welded wire fence. My Rhode Island Reds stay put.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Wing Clipping



My run is about 4 ft high. If you clip the feathers on one wing of each bird it will help.

Make sure there is no blood in the shaft of the feather before you clip or your bird may bleed to death.

On some birds you may even have to clip a few secondary flight feathers.

One wing throws the bird off balance and is more effective than trimming equal amounts off both wings.