How high can they fly??

[roosterroost]

Newbie chicken owner question: We have three young chickens, about 5 weeks old. We have a 6 foot high semi-privacy fence. Can they fly over this? I have been told yes and no... At what age can you clip the wings?

 

[scooter147]

The big question here is what breed of chickens are they?

 

[33yardbirds]

My barred rocks have hit 6' with a runnig start for a short distance, the fence to keep them in the back of the property is 2'. They show no interest in going over the wall. The flight for them is more of an excercise thing or to get to the treats faster. As far as clipping, I don't know, never wanted to modify their appearence. I know they can jump 5' 'cause that's all the run is. It's covered and they jump up from outside. These birds I have would rather ladder their way up and then flutter down.

 

[Lbrad7]

Totally depends on the breed. Sebrights are especially good fliers along with Lakenvelders and the others of the smaller breeds.

 

[swordgeek]

My redcap has been known to take a running start and fly higher than the coop gutters (probably 8-10 feet at that point) and go AROUND half the building. My partridge cochin, on the other hand, would have trouble making it two feet off the ground... which would be trembling from her attempt. She's built like a linebacker.

 

[woodmort]

Generally the bigger and heavier the bird the less height they can get off the ground--assuming they want to fly in the first place. Adult RIR/BR types probably couldn't top your 6' fence without a boost.

 

[columbiacritter]

My dutch bantams fly up to our second story deck to steal snacks off the table when we're eating.

 

[Annabella]

My fence line is a 4 foot chain link fence, they have never flown over it. Though my Sussex and Australorp basically have to fly that high to get up to their landing perch to get into the coop (I don't have a ladder for them).

The Isa Browns are much lighter and I have seen them fly higher than that to get up onto the deck to get away from the dog (before I built their own area to protect them from him).
But so far, they have never shown interest to fly the fence line, lucky for me and them as the neighbours dog would make short work of them.

 

[chiclet]

My 16 week bantams fly over my 10' fence, up to my 2nd floor balcony, and i'm not sure where else!
One day when i was sure i'd lost one, she came floating down from over the shed... Who knows WHERE she was...
I was considering clipping their wings, but I want them to be able to escape a neighborhood cat, if they need to.

 

[Mrs. K]

The other side of the coin, is what can fly IN, or crawl IN. Your predators will not have any trouble getting in a fenced run, unless it is totally enclosed. And even then, they can find a weak spot. MrsK