How high can orpingtons jump?

[felidaet]

My entire run is covered with a roof. I live in an area that gets quite a bit of rain in the winter. We also have hawks and eagles that would love a fresh chicken dinner. I discovered this last summer that the roof was also great for providing shade in the summer.

 

[CKMom]

I would cover it at the very least. My 5 Buffs can all fly pretty well, and one was sitting up on the rafters in the coop. When they were younger they could easily fly over a 4 ft. wire enclosure.

 

[bufforp89]

My young BO girls were jumping over a 4 foot fence before I built it up another foot. The bigger girls cant though.

 

[gsim]

A run that small for 2 chooks is so easy to cover so why not for peace of mind? Use chicken wire as it will outlast plastic. If I was you, I would also put 24" tall hardware cloth all around the bottom to keep coons from reaching in to decapitate your chooks. They are famous for that.

I have a runt barred rock that at 16 weeks age, jumped to perch on top of my 5 ft wire fence around the garden. The dummy was trying to get out and back to the pen ! She sat there until I walked over to her and set her off of it. She never has taken to being in the garden. I think she is also retarded!

Who ever heard of any chook that wanted OUT of a working garden?

 

[Amethyste]

I have two young BO pullets... 17 weeks old. They think they are rabbits tho and not chickens cos they hop. Yes, HOP! Its hilarious to watch them but they jump all over the place. The greatest fun I hve seen them have is when i suspend lettuce in the air and let them jump for it. So far the highest I have seen is about 4 feet or so, hunkering down and then vauting into the air, flapping as fast as they can to get the best height. I expect to hear the Bionic Man theme playing at times!

 

[woodenart]

Just to add, in our experience, Orpingtons are not the most agile so it's unlikely to scale a fence, however, there is always one that tries to break the rules !

Mark.

 

[Amethyste]

Yes I agree lol they are definitely NOT agile lol

But they do get determined lol

 

[babyblue]

my thinest bo can scale a 6 foot fence if there are treats on the other side.

 

[lildinkem]

Some smart butt chicken told me they won't jump a fence they can see on the other side.