how tall of fence for these breeds of chickens?

[the-bird-man]

hi peeps. so i was planing on doing a roof on my run that i will be building but seeing how i am a tall guy it would have to be at least 7 feet tall and i am not sure how that would look. i am now thinking if i just build a tall enough fence the chickens will not be able to fly out and plus there are not many predators here just our cats and our dogs and once in a blue moon there will be a hawk but that is very rare. i will have 4 bsl, 4 leghorns and 2 ee. so since i may not do a roof how tall should i make the fence so they will not fly out? i can clip the wings if needed too i guess. i want the run to look good not have them fly out. any ideas? thanks for all your help

 

[cfdf]

at least 6'. I'd put some kind of netting or cover on the top too. Hawks really like chickens!

 

[OkChickens]

The hawks will figure out where the chickens are and they really like them. I would use netting of some sort.

-Nate

 

[centrarchid]

Netting needed unless fence pushing 20' for leghorns.

 

[the-bird-man]

so a 6 foot fence would keep them in? i am not too worried about the hawks, my niece said she saw one but i doubt it was one. plus i am home about 24/7 and i have not seen any. it does not mean they are not there but i have never seen any. plus i have dogs to watch over them.

edit: so do leghorns fly a lot?

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Most chickens, as adults, can if properly motivated clear a 6 foot fence. Some can do much better as indicated above, with minimal motivation.

 

[the-bird-man]

okay so how well does the plastic netting hold up in winter? will it break when it gets freezing cold out? or should i just go with chicken wire?

 

[OkChickens]

I did not see hawks until I got chickens! Now I see a few hawks a day... I put poultry netting over the top and it keeps them out of my run. I would cover the run

-Nate

 

[the-bird-man]

so now it looks like i will just cover the run. thanks for all the advice

 

[TajMahalChickens]

I have fruit tree netting over my run. The square size is about 3/8 inch. I would recommend slightly bigger, since a snowfall with large snowflakes will nat fall through. The snow built up on it, and it ripped.

On another of my runs, I have regular fencing over the top. that is nice and sturdy. i could do that since my run was only 5 feet wide.