My chickens jump the fence!

[ChickenPollo]

Hi everyone. My chickens are about 7 weeks old and can already go over a fence which is about 6 feet tall. For now we have managed to stop the escapes by adding a little plastic roof to the fence. When they grow up, they will get over the fence for sure. What do I do? Should I clip their wings when they grow or should I just make a comfortable sized coop for them so they don't go? Suggestions?

 

[CHICKLOVER69]

I have a totally enclosed coop/run. Our friends run is not covered and have lost several to owls and hawks. I enclosed mine with hardware cloth to make it predator proof, to the best of my ability. The top is vinyl roofing panels. I only have 9 chicks, 6 weeks old. Mostly for pets and eggs, so i dont want to risk loosing any. If you dont want to loose any I would definetly keep them covered. Look in the predator forums. Coons, fox, owls, snakes,dogs, cats. Anything that walks or crawls can hurt or kill them. Some will kill for a meal which I can understand, some just kill for fun.

 

[ChickenPollo]

Thank you very much for your help. My chickens are in Spain and the only predator is the cat which was only a danger for the chickens when they were small. Now the only problem is escaping. My question is what to do so they don't escape. I would maybe clip their wings so I wouldn't have trouble.

 

[CHICKLOVER69]

If they are going to stay in the fenced in area and you dont want a covered run, you can buy netting to keep them from flying out. Think its called deer netting. I would much rather cover the pen than have to catch them once a month to clip their wings. My friend clips his bird's wings, but sounds like too much work to me. LOL. Dont know how big your fenced area is but chicken wire is fairly cheap and would surely last longer.

 

[CHICKLOVER69]

If your talking about them free ranging in the back yard and flying out of the yard, then my only suggestion would be to clip their wings. The are jumping now, but will be flying soon.

 

[ChickenPollo]

Thanks for the tip the fenced area is about 5×6 meters and there is a big tree which I won't be able to cover with the fence. I hope the chickens won't climb the tree and escape.

 

[skunknchatter]

Clipping wings did nothing for me. I tried it and they still "flew the coop" every day. Can you get bird netting? The kind farmers use to cover fruit trees to protect them from birds? Or the type for flight pens? That would be your easiest and cheapest option if predators aren't a worry. You can just cut it to go around your tree. I'm betting your chickens will roost in that tree every night if you don't do something to keep them in your run. Good luck!

 

[ChickenPollo]

Thank you that is probably the best solution.

 

[chickenmadness7]

I'm following this thread, as I just acquired a 4 month old pullet who's previous owner/breeder said she often flew over a 6 foot fence. Yikes. I have her in quarantine right now, so time will tell how this goes. I'm not a fan of clipping wings in general, but think it's probably what I will have to do.

 

[islandgirl82]

X2 on the bird netting. It's inexpensive and works like a charm to keep chickens in the run and aerial predators out.