HELP - My Free range chicken trying to jump fence into front yard...

[room onthebroom]

We're in SD too and are struggling to keep everybody alive. In addition to the frozen water bottles & fans, we're giving them watermelon & pomegranate seeds. Out of desperation we set them chest deep in a bucket of water. I've heard putting their dried mealworm snacks in the fridge helps too ... Just take them out before company comes over for dinner. All kidding aside, good luck neighborhood peeps & hang in there!

 

[backyardahens]

We're in SD too and are struggling to keep everybody alive. In addition to the frozen water bottles & fans, we're giving them watermelon & pomegranate seeds. Out of desperation we set them chest deep in a bucket of water. I've heard putting their dried mealworm snacks in the fridge helps too ... Just take them out before company comes over for dinner. All kidding aside, good luck neighborhood peeps & hang in there!

All great ideas! Thanks! Let's hope we get some relief by this weekend. My AC bill is going to be outrageous!

 

[simmworksfamily]

@simmworksfamily

Yes, my hens are doing the same thing, digging holes and laying in the dirt. I put a kiddie pool outside with about an inch of water but they are very uninterested.. I lightly misted them which they seemed to like. They are 20 weeks old and I'm still waiting for my first eggs, but I have a feeling this heat isn't helping!!

My second *just* started laying today (my two are 27 weeks - The first started laying 2 weeks ago at 25 weeks). Crossing my fingers you get eggs soon!

And mine didn't care for the trays of water I put out either.

 

[cavemanrich]

Here is my gift to you....

And here is the setup for the top fence wire.

This is what you need. Supports, screws, wire or strong string twine.

support made from PVC pipe 1/2 inch. wire about 4 inches above top of fence.

9 to 10 inch length ideal.. wire best at about 4 inches above top of fence.

The supports can be spaced at about 4 feet apart, but the string or wire needs to be stretched tight for it to work well.

 

[simmworksfamily]

We're in SD too and are struggling to keep everybody alive. In addition to the frozen water bottles & fans, we're giving them watermelon & pomegranate seeds. Out of desperation we set them chest deep in a bucket of water. I've heard putting their dried mealworm snacks in the fridge helps too ... Just take them out before company comes over for dinner. All kidding aside, good luck neighborhood peeps & hang in there!

Oh! Putting their mealworm snacks in the fridge now. And buying some more watermelon. They get their pomagranates from the tree.

 

[room onthebroom]

All great ideas! Thanks! Let's hope we get some relief by this weekend. My AC bill is going to be outrageous!

We have no ac here. Its been 92* inside my house for days (drops down to 88* in the middle of the night) a REALLY difficult situation. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we don't loose power or the stockpile of frozen water bottles will melt.

 

[backyardahens]

Here is my gift to you.... And here is the setup for the top fence wire. This is what you need. Supports, screws, wire or strong string twine. support made from PVC pipe 1/2 inch. wire about 4 inches above top of fence. 9 to 10 inch length ideal.. wire best at about 4 inches above top of fence. The supports can be spaced at about 4 feet apart, but the string or wire needs to be stretched tight for it to work well.

WOW, that's great! Thank you for the detailed pictures. Now I truly feel like a dumb blonde, what I was imagining was something completely different! This is great! Looks like I have a weekend project coming up! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to help me!

 

[room onthebroom]

My second *just* started laying today (my two are 27 weeks - The first started laying 2 weeks ago at 25 weeks). Crossing my fingers you get eggs soon!

And mine didn't care for the trays of water I put out either.

Mine wouldn't walk into the shallow pans of water either. We stood them in it yesterday & then went a step further today by gently dipping them in the bucket. We were careful to hold their wings so that they didn't flail & hurt themselves & they stopped panting right way.

@cavemanrich that rain looks GLORIOUS thank you!

 

[backyardahens]

@ cavemanrich

Well I got the rain! Been raining for a few hours... and we made a similar cable... but look what happend

 

[simmworksfamily]

That sneaky bird!! Guess she's enjoying the rain as much as she can?

The preschool my kids atttended had cats that were indoor/outdoor (only in their yard) and they had a netting that went out at a 45 degree angle from their existing fence to keep them from jumping over and getting out of the yard (or attacking the birds). Would something like that work?