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Um, you can't keep chickens IN with electric fencing (unless you use electronet, which is both expensive and very high-maintenance).
So the o.p. will need a physical mesh fence of some sort. Adding electric TO it is never a bad idea, but electric fence alone (the affordable kind anyhow) won't cut it.
Chainlink is fine IF YOU INSTALL IT CORRECTLY which few people bother to do and it is a fair bit of work and rather expensive/time-consuming to do right. If you are considering chainlink, learn about it first to see what all you'll need and decide whether it's really the right choice for you. You CANNOT just string it up as if it were woven wire mesh and expect it to do much good.
I guess the question is, how big is this area and how big is the budget. (I'm not asking you to tell us
, just saying that's what it boils down to). The ideal reasonably-realistic solution would be 4' tall 2x4 welded wire -- good livestock quality, not the cheesy flimsy yard-and-garden stuff -- with a coupla lines of hotwire added to it. Alternatively, if the area is large, you could use 4x4 sheep wire or possibly even regular pagewire (field fencing -- the stuff that is usually about 6x12" holes) with some 1" chickenwire added to the bottom 3' AND three or four lines of hotwire on the outside of it.
If you have farm-stuff auctions in your area, and are not in too much of a hurry to do this fencing, I'd suggest going to a buncha auctions and seeing what turns up. Sometimes (very unpredictably) you can get great deals, on new fencing or even on perfectly serviceable secondhand stuff. (I would not suggest buying secondhand chainlink, as it is often beyond salvage)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
