My EE tried to escape today! (with pics)

[Happy Chooks]

Here's my escape artist. She made it to the roof of the coop, which is about 7 ft high.

 

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I have one EE that looks just like yours. She is my only escape artist. I've only had her for 8 months and she's had her wings clipped twice. She even gets into my neighbors yard with a very large dog!!! My four RIR's don't seem to follow suit. They are completely happy in their own little world in my backyard. It must be a breed thing. I had some straw stacked next to the 5 ft fence and that's when she figured out she could get to the top and over. But then she wasn't sure how to get back!! I moved the straw.

 

[KKatknap]

Here's my escape artist. She made it to the roof of the coop, which is about 7 ft high.

(sigh) I have an EE identical to yours...I've been working on setting up a large run for them to get them out of the tractor during the day. I had NOT been planning on making it 7 feet high! Starting over on the plan.......
Glad I read this thread before I built anything!

 

[mdbokc]

Depending on where you live, you can use deer netting to make an inexpensive 7' high fence, that is what I did. And it is virtually invisible except for the stained 1x2s acting as posts.

These EE are beautiful birds. I never cease to be amazed at what one can see on this website.

 

[cntrygrl40]

We ALSO have an EE very similar to yours named Bella with a grey beard. She unfortunately is the runt of a flock of 11 free range hens. Each one has a female mate of the same breed, but her (hers got into a dog pen and was killed) and she's also the smallest. I noticed lately though she has made friends with one of the BOs - I found them laying right against each other in the sun (so sweet). So what I've started doing when I give them treats is call her aside around a corner or somewhere where the others can't see her to give her her own little pile of treats. Otherwise, the BRs are pecking her on her back or the RSs or NHRs run over to where she's eating and she runs away. She is slowly getting braver and getting in there for her share at times - so proud of her. She is just so adorable!

 

[Wifezilla]

Sometimes escape artists have bills instead of beaks...

Shelley's greatest joy is sneaking out of the run and getting in the pond so she can eat all the water plants

 

[Hens4Fun]

Fun pictures in this thread. Never dawned on me they would get to a branch as high as mine did to escape. This avocado tree is HUGE ... my Rhode Island Red explored for quite some time at heights I never thought a chicken would climb.

needless to say I had to work on making the limbs inaccessible.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
(sigh) I have an EE identical to yours...I've been working on setting up a large run for them to get them out of the tractor during the day. I had NOT been planning on making it 7 feet high! Starting over on the plan.......
Glad I read this thread before I built anything!

If it makes you feel better, she didn't go OUT of the run. Our coop is inside our orchard. So she made it to the roof, but didn't jump out. Of course, we were all waving wildly to get her down on the correct side.

 

[danab]

Bella has not tried to escape anymore. But she has taught the other girls some bad tricks. I built my coop and attached run under a big old fruitless mulberry tree. It provides a lot of shade for the coop. Some of the branches were only a few inches away from the top of the run. We had some strong winds around Thanksgiving day, and I woke up Friday morning to see a huge branch had cracked at the trunk. A 8 inch branch was resting on top of the frame of the run.

Anyway, it showed my that my neighbor really built me a sturdy coop and run. It did not do any damage, just made the frame sag by maybe a half inch or so. Now the door to the run is a little hard to close. But now that I have trimmed half of the tree, the top of the run is no longer covered by branches. That is what probably gave Bella the idea to do this.

And of course everyone else has to do it now too. My backyard fence is only 5 feet away from the coop, so I won't be surprised if my next door neighbor finds the girls free ranging in their backyard someday soon.

Its just hard to stay mad at her when she gives me this look.

 

[henryetta]

oh what a beautiful! naughty! girl.. ;-) It reminds me of rasing my skin kids. There always has to be one kid in the area that is there influencing all the others to 'try it' it's fun!!. Looks like you got the little stinker kid right in your own coop.