I had my first chicken death. Questions about fence height

[21hens-incharge]

Baaah!!! I have a pretty large run it's 18/24 feet, so bird netting would be a bit much right now. I don't have hawk problems where I live, thank goodness. But I'll keep an eye of em and if it's still a problem I'll figure something out.. Man I really wanted to get game chickens but now I guess not!

And thanks for your response!

My run is 16x23 so similar size.

You are very lucky If You don't have hawks. They are thick here. I put wire over my run.
They hang out in all the trees around.

 

[dalasgalas]

5 feet is nothing, even for my obese hood chicken.

 

[Ms Clucky]

Sorry for your loss. I felt like crying for you. You might have a problem with hawks if you get game chickens. Did you say your right now are big chickens? Your rooster was handsome. What kind was he?

 

[Chickassan]

Skinny birds can clear five feet like it is nothing! Since you have a big run what you can do is run a couple strands of wire or twine around the top. You just want it to look taller and unstable up there "normally" they wont jump anything they don't think they can safely land on.
Sorry you lost Clack, those skinny butt Polish are a handful.

 

[Acre4Me]

Sorry for your loss!

We have 8 ft fence on part of the run, and 4 ft on other part. It is a previous dog run from a previous owner...why they put in two different heights....no idea. But, every so often a hen goes over the fence to free range ...always on the shirt side, of course. We had a male Hamburg (a slim and flighty breed) for a short time and he always went over the fence, until we sold him. I've even had the experience of one of the friendlier hens flying up to the fence and perching where I was standing, in order to get some attention! Of course, we don't like this, so we will be fixing this to enclose the run, hopefully this spring/summer.

 

[Rooster_Tyranny]

So sorry for your loss. I tend to get pretty attached to some of my roo's also, so I completely understand. Wing clipping may help, but some birds do manage to do pretty well even when clipped. The more light-bodied birds tend to be more apt to fly out, as will younger ones that haven't reached full weight yet. I have a couple of spots on my run that have hardware cloth attached to the top of the fence, to make it higher there, to keep them from trying to fly over or perch there. It's on my gates also for the same reason. You can also put up a taller post and put the netting up at the top of the fence only, may help discourage them. Good luck.

Sorry for your loss.

Yes it is normal for them to clear even a six foot fence.

I have found my weirdo buff Orpington trying to roost on a thin garden trellis six feet up a few times. That wire is only a quarter inch in diameter.

You should look at putting at least bird netting over your run. It will help keep hawks out and chickens in but won't stop coons or fox.

Skinny birds can clear five feet like it is nothing! Since you have a big run what you can do is run a couple strands of wire or twine around the top. You just want it to look taller and unstable up there "normally" they wont jump anything they don't think they can safely land on.
Sorry you lost Clack, those skinny butt Polish are a handful.

Thank you for the suggestions! They were very helpful. So far no other chicken has shown any interest in getting out, but as soon as one does I will be utilizing these ideas! It was weird, even after Clack got out all he ever wanted to do was go back in. When he was a chick he would jump out of the brooder and you could hear his screeching throughout the whole house because at some point he realized the food and heat were INSIDE the brooder.

 

[Rooster_Tyranny]

Sorry for your loss. I felt like crying for you. You might have a problem with hawks if you get game chickens. Did you say your right now are big chickens? Your rooster was handsome. What kind was he?

Thank you. I seriously love this forum and all the people in it! Yes all the rest of my breeds are duel purpose (okay..I do have one other Polish but she's so incompetent she can't even get off the roost without help!). He was a Buff Laced polish and yes he was gorgeous! His lacing came in really nicely. And I live in a suburban environment so hawks aren't ever really around. Only thing we got are raccoons and darn dogs!

View attachment 1702200
Here's a pic of him trying to eat my phone. And this is completely random but you have the CUTEST profile pic.

 

[cmom]

I have electric wire around my pens and coops, concrete under the gates and heavy duty netting covering the pens. I also have game cameras up pointing towards the coops. All was done because of losses due to predators. Every poultry owner is likely to loose a bird sooner or later. The predator will find a week spot.

 

[Feathered_Texans]

If wire is too expensive, you could try a cheap rope tightly wound in a zig zag formation. You could probablly use something like twine. This will only keep chickens in and usually hawks out, but will not help with raccoons.

 

[Rooster_Tyranny]

If wire is too expensive, you could try a cheap rope tightly wound in a zig zag formation. You could probablly use something like twine. This will only keep chickens in and usually hawks out, but will not help with raccoons.

Thank you!! Where would you put the rope? I assume on the top of the fence?

I have electric wire around my pens and coops, concrete under the gates and heavy duty netting covering the pens. I also have game cameras up pointing towards the coops. All was done because of losses due to predators. Every poultry owner is likely to loose a bird sooner or later. The predator will find a week spot.

I'm not exactly sure why you're telling me this but thank you nonetheless! That's a pretty great set up. Getting into there must seem like breaking into a maximum security -prison- sanctuary for those pesky predators!

Edit: How the heck do you cross things out?