I had my first chicken death. Questions about fence height

Rooster_Tyranny

Songster
Sep 2, 2018
121
608
157
Utah
Man, it's always your favorite ones that go first, isn't it? I never thought I'd be so sad over a dumb bird. My rooster Clack (profile pic) managed to jump OUT of the run (which is 5 feet high and I know for a fact he didn't squeeze through a hole somewhere), and of course right at that moment the neighbors dog had to run through our yard and that was that.

Now the entire flock is in disarray because the rooster is gone, if I make any sudden movements they all go running, and their pecking order is screwed up and they'll all being jerks to each other. Plus now the flock just seems so colorless, he really was the center piece. And 5 chickens is so much less than 6. I keep expecting him to come out of the coop when I open the door. :hit

On the bright side (the only bright side), I now have room for more chickens! I picked up 2 Russian Orloffs and a Buff Orpington (who will be named Clack jr) from the feed store, really hoping they're all pullets! :fl The neighbors feel suuuper bad and even offered to compensate, but he only cost like 3 dollars and I'm not that petty.

But, my question is, is it normal for chickens to be able to jump over a 5 ft fence? There is nothing for them to jump up on before the fence except MAYBE the coop. He was a BL Polish and a scrawny little thing so maybe that's why, I've never seen any of the bigger hens do it. I'll just make sure to only buy beefier breeds from now on.
 
Sorry for your loss. :hugs

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.:hmm

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.
 
Your first is always the hardest I’m so sorry for your loss :/ one thing that helped my girls when I lost my first hen a little bit ago and I felt they were all sad and looking for her was completely rearrange their coop. Move perches if possible and food and water spot and put new things in. They were so occupied relearning their environment they couldn’t focus on the chicken missing, although i did all of that for them :(
 
Your first is always the hardest I’m so sorry for your loss :/ one thing that helped my girls when I lost my first hen a little bit ago and I felt they were all sad and looking for her was completely rearrange their coop. Move perches if possible and food and water spot and put new things in. They were so occupied relearning their environment they couldn’t focus on the chicken missing, although i did all of that for them :(
Thank you!! I guess we knew what we signed up for when we got these guys didn't we? No pet owner is spared.. :( And I will have to try that.
 
Sorry for your loss. :hugs

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.:hmm

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.
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!
 
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.
 

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