Hello Kansas

[lucymarcysally]

Hello! 'm brand new to BYC AND to having chickens. Someone was nice enough to send me the link for the Kansas BYC group so I just wanted to say hello. Well, and maybe get a little advice...
My Barred Rock, Lucy, has decided she likes to hop the 6' privacy fence and get into my neighbor's backyard. I'm sure she's doing it deliberately. He has a more mature yard with nice bushes to hide under and keep cool. He also has dogs and is not the most understanding about extra pets in his yard. I have dogs too but mine are learning not to bother the chickens.I figure that means I should clip Lucy's wings so she can't get over the fence. My other 2 girls don't even try to go over the fence so they aren't a problem yet and the girls are only about 4 1/2 months old. I've seen a couple of videos online about how to trim a chicken's wings and it looks pretty straight forward. I thought I'd wait until about the time the girls go to bed when they are calmer. Is it fairly easy to trim the wings? I guess I'm just a bit nervous since I haven't done it before.

Lucy laid her first eggs a couple days ago but I haven't seen any since then. But it's pretty hot and miserable too so maybe she just doesn't feel like laying now.

Thanks,
Susan

 

[IceAngel]

Here is the BYC link for trimming flight feathers: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-clip-trim-the-wings-of-your-chicken-to-prevent-flight

I don't trim flight feathers because we have coyotes and neighbourhood dogs that come onto our property. The ability to fly gives my birds an advantage to get away from them.

Have you thought about extending the height of your fence with bamboo rods and netting? Just an idea. I have also read about electrified netting in BYC ....although I have never seen it, so not sure it would be useful.

 

[lucymarcysally]

Lucy has gone into the neighbor's yard twice in the last 2 days and she is quite the independent little girl. I think she's just decided the "grass is greener on the other side" but I'm afraid she will get hurt by one of the neighbor's dogs one day AND that the neighbor is going to start complaining about my chickens. The coop is inside my vegetable garden on the opposite side of the yard but the fence is only 4' high and the gate a mere 3'. The girls hop that fence to get into my yard (I have a 1/4 acre fenced lot) with no problem and I'm fine with them in my yard.
I have a friend that does handyman/remodeling work and he has agreed to put a 5' fence with a proper gate around the garden but it might be a month before his schedule gives him time to do that. I think that will help out some but I just thought I should do something to keep Lucy safe until then. That's why I thought about trimming a wing. There's no issue with predators where I live and the only dogs in my yard are mine and they are learning to leave the chickens alone. So escaping is my biggest concern for now.
The girls are only about 4 1/2 months old now so still have some growing to do. As they get bigger - and weigh more--will it be harder for them to get over that 6' fence?

Thanks