Since I am going to to be getting chickens I need to build a chicken coop, and a fence for them. I am wondering how tall the fence needs to be to keep them from flying out? I have heard some people say only ever put them in a completely covered fence, and others say they won't fly out if you clip their wings (or wing).... I could go with a covered fence, or if I don't particularly NEED one I could give them a much larger area. Because of my budget, if I do need a covered area, their pen will have to shrink a bit to accomodate that. I am kinda hoping I can get some responses from people who can give me some feedback on what your experiences are in this area and what you have had success with. Does it depend on the type of chickens? I am thinking of possibly getting a few buff orpingtons, maybe a few easter eggers, and maybe some dominics, but no more than 10 chickens total Thanks for the help!! Danielle
Most people cover the run because of predators. Hawks are bad about swooping in. Also cats climb up and jump in the top.
I constructed a run today, and my height is only 2 ft., but I did cover it with plastic netting just in case. We have a red tail hawk that nests nearby. I also decided to cover it because I don't want to clip their wings. I went with the short 2 ft. height because the more that I thought about it, I could make more run space by cutting my wire in half and didn't see the need to make it 4 or 6 ft high. If I had to get in there, I could, it would be gross, but I could. I also like the way that it looks, because it is barely noticable and with it only that high, I can actually take and make a "picket" fence (out of pallets) around it to really set it off and not have high fencing above it.
I think you'd keep quite a bit more money in your pocket by buying deer netting or somesuch than trying to make the run high enough to contain the chickens. EE's I've seen fly up to six or seven feet...with ease. This way, you can make the run walls a little shorter since you don't have to worry about the chickens getting out if you put the deer netting over the top. For height, I'd also take into consideration how much time you will spend in there. It can be a pain to duck every time you want to walk in. Hope this helps a bit.
Some breeds will stay in a four foot fence, and others will fly over most anything. The heavy breeds dont fly well. As was stated, most people cover runs to keep predators out rather than to keep the chickens in
Thanks you guys! I love this site, so much information floating around, and everyone willing to share that with eachother! I really like the idea of using Deer Netting, does anyone know if snow would build up on that in the winter, or if it falls through?
Hello and WELCOME to BYC from another Washingtonian. I have ten 11 wk old chicks that I protect in a dog kennel run that is 12' wide X 20 ' long X 6' high. I covered one portion of run top with dog kennel panel that was extra that I then put a tarp over that because of the never ending rain. The rest I covered with green plastic garden netting zip tied to the top. (It comes in 25 ft lengths so easy for me to just cut in half). I live on 4 cleared acres with surrounding trees that have red tail hawk and bald eagles that like the mice in my pasture that I don't want them to develop a taste for my chickens. I would encourage a 6 ft run. I love sitting in there with my chicks feeding them little snacks, petting them as they fly up on my back, lap, or arms. This is a time that I also check them over for lice or other critters they can get. I still need to attach hardware cloth on the bottom 2 ft to make my run more daytime preditor proof. I do lock mine up at night. Good luck with yours. PS. I was going to add a pic of my run but I've reached my limit. Is there a way to attach those that have already been posted? Maybe I just need to become a golden feather member??? OK - Found where I posted a pic of my run. Go to page 8 - #80 at the below post. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=40760&p=8
