hey all, newbie to BYC from 'Down Under'

girls r us

Hatching
6 Years
May 3, 2013
4
0
7
1st i'd like to say a BIG hello to all out there that LOVE their girls (and boys if u have them)

2nd i have an issue with one i call road runner (real name Ivory lol)


I HOPE I CAN GET SOME HELP HERE :D

heres the story: i have 4 girls and 2 peking ducks...i live in suburbia on a quarter acre block...i have fenced approx 1/6th of the yard for them which is MORE than enough (pic attached - approx 3' high with proper chicken wire) with the one and only tree in my yard which grows like a bush, i had to cut all the lower branches because at night they would get up there and roost instead of in their 'beds', they were still getting in the tree/bush so i clipped their wings but this was ALSO because they were flying over the fencing from the tree to frolic in the yard which i dont like them doing unless im home as i have 2 dogs, i do regularly let them out to fossick around (bar my vege patch which is fenced, approx 1/2 meter high, MUCH lower than their pen)...im assuming Roadie (road runner) is the instigator, shes one smart girl like her owner lol

After doing all this, Roadie used to peck peck peck at the dirt along the fenceline till she made a hole big enuf to get under and so the other girls SLOWLY caught on to 'how to get out' when i put tent pegs closely together along the fenceline so she/they couldnt get out she then took to working on making a hole in the actual fencing by pecking at it (looked like wire cutters had been used to make a hole lol) and hence the girls followed her out into the yard...

she has caught on to me checking the fencing for her holes and repairing them before she/they can get out....NOW she has taken to actually using the chicken wire fencing like a ladder!!!!!

HOW am I supposed to keep her in there and SAFE?? one of my dogs is a cattle cross and a known 'chook killer/eater'..i seriously fear for her, she was my first baby and is now 4yr old and dont want her to be my dogs next meal...having said that she has SERIOUSLY attacked my other dog who is ALL animal friendly, chases him around the yard and jumps at him like kung fu panda & pecking at him (we in the family here actually find this quite hilarious!!!)

PS the pic shows 3/4 of the yard they have to cruise around in AND none of them go into my vege patch which is fenced not much higher than they are tall...go figure lol

700
 
Howdy from "up above".
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Wow, your problem sounds a whole lot like the animated movie, Chicken Run. The only solutions that come immediately to mind would require quite a bit of work.
  • The digging under could be solved by adding an apron of fencing out a foot or two inside the run.
  • You may be able to stop the climbing by angling the fence in about 10 degrees.
Than again you could take their spoons away or threaten them with "The Chop"! Not that either worked for Mrs. Tweedy.
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Just remembered, there is an easier and cheaper solution to the tunneling issue. Make friends with a lineman from the local electric company. At least here they are happy to give you some of the used poles. Lay them around the edge of the fence.

We discovered this method many years ago with a dog that was always digging out of her run. That run than became our chicken concern, so we've never had that problem.

Hope this helps,
Mike
 
Greetings from Kansas, girls r us, and
welcome-byc.gif
! Pleased you joined us! Can you lay some fencing material flat on the ground around the insider perimeter of the coop? Would be effective and should be cheap. Good luck to you!
 
Hello from Oregon & welcome to BYC. Looks like good advice above. Secure top & bottom - that should fix the situation.
 
thanks guys for ur welcomes and ideas, im loving it, i think i'll try the cheaper and easier alternatives suggested - angling the top inwards AND lay some fencing across the ground inside the run...

Mike i certainly think Roadie should be the basis of a hen if they ever make a Chicken Run 2...she is such a determined young lady, iv never seen anything like it lol
 
i'v just been having a giggle thinking about her watching me making the alterations, i can just imagine what'll be going thru her head!! lol
 

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