To fix or not to fix...

[lisa_anne]

So our basic set up is a fenced in area of the back yard. Two sides are 6 ft. privacy fence, one side is the garage wall, and the other side we built out of chicken wire and wood. There is no overhead enclosure. Their coop is an old dog house that we modded and it sits up about 3 feet on a wooden base that we built.

So originally the chickens were getting up onto the people gate, roosting there, and then jumping over to the people yard - every night. We fitted the gate with tall pieces of bamboo and netting so that cannot happen anymore. Since this has been fixed, the girls have only "flown the coop" twice. Once when their coop door got blown shut and they couldn't get in at dusk (we found them up in a pine tree), and this morning. My neighbor said she heard a lot of squawking, so she thinks maybe an animal got into their yard so they escaped (they can get up to the roof of the coop and go over into the people yard it seems).

My actual question is, do I put in more netting so they can't get out, or do leave them their escape route? We live in city, like 5 minutes from downtown, so there are all kinds of predators. I don't know what to do! I don't want them to get hurt, so if them staying safe means my chasing them through the neighbors' yards a few times it isn't the end of the world

Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Hawkeye95]

I'm a bit confused about their run.. okay, one side is a garage wall, and the other is a 6ft privacy fence. What are the other two sides?? Are those the sides they are getting out of? Are they getting over the 6ft privacy fence? Our farm store has aviary netting for about $30 for a huge roll of it. Can you put netting over it?

even better... can you post a picture of it??? Use the Uploads in the blue bar at the top of the screen.

 

[ChicKat]

I would make their saftey the highest priority.

If you could net them in---but still have some kind of arrangement where they could fly to a ? perch, trapeeze, stick, swing? something to be sure that what ever drove them over the fence that one time wouldn't be able to get them.

Good luck.