Perimeter fence???

[fishmanwill]

Hello everyone,
I have a question about perimeter fence. I need to fence off about a 1/2 acre for some chickens. The chickens have torn up my wife's flowers and are pooping on the porch, so we have decided to fence them in a large area. We only have 20 large breed chickens that I need to confine to an area. I was looking at field fence from tractor supply, because it is cheaper and won't cost me as much to fence them in. They still have their coop and secure run this fence would just hopefully keep them in that area. Would field fence work at keeping them in that area? The description is "Openings range from 3 in. H x 6 in. W at the bottom to 8 in. H x 6 in. W at the top". I need to do this as cheap as possible. Predators are not a problem, just keeping them in their area is the concern. It is 4' fence. I know some May fly over. But has any one used field fence to keep chickens in? Thanks.

 

[4 the Birds]

Hello everyone,
I have a question about perimeter fence. I need to fence off about a 1/2 acre for some chickens. The chickens have torn up my wife's flowers and are pooping on the porch, so we have decided to fence them in a large area. We only have 20 large breed chickens that I need to confine to an area. I was looking at field fence from tractor supply, because it is cheaper and won't cost me as much to fence them in. They still have their coop and secure run this fence would just hopefully keep them in that area. Would field fence work at keeping them in that area? The description is "Openings range from 3 in. H x 6 in. W at the bottom to 8 in. H x 6 in. W at the top". I need to do this as cheap as possible. Predators are not a problem, just keeping them in their area is the concern. It is 4' fence. I know some May fly over. But has any one used field fence to keep chickens in? Thanks.

Field fence will work fine as long as your chickens are large breed and full grown. I have had 7 week old pullets go through 2x4 fencing if they see treats on the other side. I fenced in our 23 acres using field fence that I bought from Tractor Supply. I hired someone to drill and set the posts but I did the fence myself (pretty easy to do with a fence stretcher). I used no climb horse fencing (2x4 inch openings) around the goat/chicken area because a raccoon can go through a 6 inch opening (seen it before when the dogs cornered a coon on the property). The field fence is your cheaper option but the 2x4 no climb or even 4x4 goat fencing would be a better option but more cost.

The only time that I have had a few chickens fly over the fence was when they were first moved from the brooder to the free range area. They quickly learn to stay inside and never leave the free range area. Perhaps our dog pack on the other side of the fence is a good incentive to stay put! My fencing is all 4 ft high with a strand of barb wire on top (pretty standard for farm fencing). Hope this helps.