how high for fencing?

[lisamarie]

okay, folks. We built an awesome coop at the beginning of the summer for our new chickens. I planned on free ranging them on our property and have done so (what the heck was I thinking???), but now I have had it w/ the poop and w/ them eating my veggies! I never realized how much they poop and they seem to do it on the patio most times. Anyhow, I have to hose the patio down at least once per day if not twice. So, I am thinking I can pen them in in an area by the coop so they have some space, but just not the run of the yard, patio, and porches. Do you think if I put up some sort of chicken wire fencing that they would actually stay in that area? Right now they stay in our yard which is fenced w/ about a 4 foot fence. Sometimes they perch on top of the fence but they rarely fly over it. If I used chicken wire, they couldn't perch, but I wonder if they would fly over it? How high would I need to make this penned in area? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Lisa

 

[Omran]

HI.I pen my chicken with a real larg pen 40'x12' and the fence around it is 6' tall but i think you will be also ok with 5' if you make it large enough that they have enough grass to eat and play,I keep my flock in the pen all time unless I am sitting outside,then I free range them under supervision and so far they listen to my comand (thanks God).
Best Luck
Omran

 

[redoak]

What breed of chickens do you have? My buff orpingtons fly like rocks. A 4 foot tall fence might be high enough to keep your chickens in, but it won't keep predators out, especially hawks and raccoons.

 

[dacjohns]

I had an Easter Egger fly to the top of a 7 foot fence.

Depending on the bird it could fly over a 4 foot fence but you might be able to fool them.

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
I completely agree with Redoak - our run is tall enough to stand in so we can clean it out easily and it has a solid roof for just this reason.

~Phylis

 

[La Banan]

Hi all - I'm having a similar dilemna though not exactly. Our coop is finished and our chooks are in it - I have a temporary pen for them that requires me moving them two by two into and out of. I have to watch them for if any marauders came through it would take them seconds to upend the hardware cloth. I have started the run area by digging a trench so I can apron the hardware cloth. I need to buy more of that stuff and some chicken wire for the top part. I need it to be tall enough for me to get into in front of the door (the pop-door is in the human door) but the side part could be shorter as long as I can EASILY remove the netting on top to rake their yard and so on...
I've never built a fence before and while my dearest guy will somewhat assist me - he told me - "I'll build the coop - you make the run" and of course I agreed. EEEEPS. Another question I have is if the hardware cloth is up about four feet above ground and then I make the rest with chicken wire - as so many seem to do - what keeps the racoons from just climbing up and tearing open the top??

Thanks for any advice on this...time's a tickin' with my chickens...
Jan

 

[BayCityBabe]

For my chickens, the run is just the daytime hangout. So, the reenforcement around the base of the fence is basically to keep the neighbor's dog out. The netting on top is to keep the hawks out. I am under no illusions about nightime preditors - we have racoons & mink, here. I know that my chickens are somebody's dinner if they are not locked up tight each evening.
I recommend deer netting for a cheap topper for your run. It is about a fourth the price of aviary netting. It works to keep my birds in. I have a 6ft. fence for my run. It is adjacent to my dog's run. I once borrowed the dog run to contain a feisty rooster, thinking that the height would keep him in. Oh, he did not escape, but I had a heck of a time getting him off his perch - 8 ft. up in the lowest branch of a tree!
Chickens CAN fly!

 

[cmom]

Here is what I have. I used to use netting but now I use chicken wire. I do move my coop, run and my range area from time to time. This is an old picture. They were getting in my garden and tearing everything up. Actually this is an area where part of my garden used to be. I kept moving the coop, run and range area and let them dig this area up. You can kind of tell by the photo. I will plant here again.

 

[lisamarie]

thanks, everyone!

so would you use chicken wire to build the pen? I don't have to worry about predators during the day so I will be sure they get locked in the coop at night.

 

[cmom]

Withdrawn