neighbors and dogs

[newchknmama]

I have 5 baby chicks that will not be ready to go outside for at least another month. We live in a subdivision and the yard is fully enclosed by a 6 ft wooden fence. My girls will likely be in their coop and run a lot of the time but I would like to let them in the yard to forage from time to time under supervision. A person in our neighborhood has some chickens and I saw them percehd up on the fence. Somehow I didnt think I would have to worry about that but i guess i do. ALL of my neighbors have dogs, will clipping one wing prevent them from going over a fence? I would be devastated if my chicken got in their yard and a dog killed it.. because it wouldnt be their fault, but mine..
all of my breeds are pretty heavy breeds except the polish.. I have a BO, a SLW, a Lt Brahma and a unknown, supposed to be Araucana..

 

[LarryPQ]

Wing clipping will help, but when I chicken REALLY wants to go...


In my experience, the heavier breeds are not big fans of "up". Too much work when there is PLENTY to scratch down low.

 

[theFox]

Most chickens (even the heavy breeds) will have no trouble scaling a 6 foot fence.

Some of them can be somewhat grounded via wing feather clipping, but I would never count on even that keeping a determined or scared chicken from flying over that fence.

Cover their run, clip a wing and make sure they are well away from the fence when you let them have supervised ranging time.

 

[baldessariclan]

We have standard 4' fence around part of our backyard (rest is taller), and clip our birds wings, and none have jumped it yet, or even shown any interest that sort of thing. Ours are larger, heavier, more docile breeds, though (Rhode Island Reds, Plymouths, etc.) -- you might have trouble with lighter, more flighty / nervous types...

 

[newchknmama]

Thanks! I don't plan on letting them out of their run unless we are out there with them. and I probably will clip at least one wing. Id hate to see one of my girls get mauled by a dog

 

[flowergirl60]

Yeah my new nieghbor has a huge dog that scales our 6ft fence even when my grandson is out. Makes me nervous.

I don't really worry about my girls going over the fence as they are older "fatties" as my DH calls them. But my adolensent hen is flighty and nervous all the time. They don't go out of the run when I am not there. They can be mad at me all they want, it is for their own safety.

I clipped the younger hens wing. I read somewhere on here that you should clip both wings as when they try to fly and are unbalanced like that they could be injured if trying to run from a predator.

 

[baldessariclan]

I'd be just as worried about dogs being able to get over the fence as the chickens being able to do the same.

That said, we've got one neighbor w/ a larger dog who will sometimes look and bark at our birds, but has never jumped the ~5' fence between our yards. Another neighbor a couple houses over has an 8' tall wooden privacy fence, and his dogs jump high enough where you can see their heads clearing the top edge -- !! They are jumping up to bark at other neighbors' dogs, when they all get into an occasional "barking frenzy" party. It's loud, but amazing to watch (dogs jumping /scrabbling off fence wall up to ~9' in the air!), and never lasts that long -- that kind of jumping seems to burn them out pretty quick...

 

[schellie69]

I clipped both wings I have some bantams and heavy breeds I would for at least the first year then they learn where the good stuff is and usually won't go over a fence.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

If you have bushes or objects near the fence that the hens can use as an intermediary perch to get over the fence, they will, so even though you may have a tall fence, it will not necessarily keep them inside. I have a VERY large barred rock cockerel who daily hops atop a 4' chain link gate and goes into my other yard (separate divisions of the back yard). He also occasionally hops atop my 4.5' wooden gate to the front yard, but has only gone over a couple of times. I do my best to discourage that.