how hi do hens fly

[katekearby]

I'm fencing a bit of a yard off the hen house, we have predator issues so we can't free range. if I fix a yard 10' wide x 20' long of 5' hi fence do i need to worry about them flying out?

 

[song of joy]

My RIR and barred rock pullets were able to clear a 4 foot high fence until they were about 8 months old. Now they don't seem to fly over it anymore, probably because they are a bit heavier now than when they were younger. They might clear a 5 foot fence, but I doubt it if the run is only 10' wide as this doesn't give them much of an "approach" when trying to lift off.

 

[katekearby]

kind of what i was hoping that they couldn't get take off room and that maybe hawks couldn't make a hit either, thanks!

 

[Hanna8]

I've had a hen who would regularly fly over our six foot fence. It depends on the breed and individual birds. The others could, but wouldn't.
I would HIGHLY recommend covering the run. When a hawk wants something badly enough, it will get it. I have had one fly in through the door of our run to get at one of my birds. That isn't a very big gap. A hawk will not be worried about space in a run the size of the one you are planning on building.

 

[SavageDestiny]

My EE girl can get up to the top of our 8ft fence and perch on top of it. We ended up covering the run.

 

[katekearby]

Thanks, I was thinking about getting some bird net, no i know for sure i will !

 

[song of joy]

A lot of this really depends on the inclination of the hawks. We have a fairly large fenced area around the coop - about 50 x 75 feet, with a 4 foot high fence. There is no covering over this area to deter hawks, so hawks could easily fly into the fenced area. However, over the past 3 years, I've lost 3 hens to hawks when the hens were OUTSIDE this fenced area, but no hens when they've been inside this area.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

My girls can easily reach our 5 foot fence. And if they jump on top of the coop they can reach the taller fence (7 ft?). The taller the better.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Wing Cliping

Hokum Coco



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.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I still have 2 pullets living at a friend's place who roost over 60 feet high in a yellow popular tree. That doesn't mean that these two girls make this flight in one hop but that they climb from limb to limb.

I have witnessed setting hens fly 10 to 20 feet high and for 400 to 500 horizontal feet in order to return to a stolen nest but this is not typical behavior and setting hens have trimmed down radically, making flight easier.

You won't find a RIR or similar heavy hen who can do this but a game hen is more than capable.