Who here has 5foot fencing or open tops on day runs?

[Robin L]

I have had an open top pen (almost 6 foot high) for almost 3 years and havent had an escapee or loss yet.

 

[jeepmama]

We also have a run that is uncovered and is 5ft tall. Our chicks have been outside day/night for 2 weeks and not had a problem.

I think the one thing that deters them from flying out is our lab. He likes to hang around outside their run. It is pretty funny b/c some of the bolder chicks will taunt him!

Goodl luck with your chicks!

 

[georgialee]

If you have hawks you could always drape some netting over the open areas. They have some great netting at lowes - it's 14x14 and really light-weight (meant to put over veggie gardens). I have to chicks that LOVE to fly (my ee's) so I know that if I hadn't put a net over the run they would be the first out.. then I'm sure all the others would follow.

 

[Chirpy]

I have a six foot, open top run. My first bunch of chickens (now over two years old) have never even thought of looking up and trying to fly out. However, my second bunch of chickens (now over a year old) were raised with Guineas... the Guineas taught my chickens how to fly over the fence.

Now - my chickens free range every day (almost all day long) so it doesn't matter for me. But, if I don't get out there soon enough to open the run door I have several that just fly out over the fence instead of waiting for me. So, even standard size chickens can fly over a six foot fence.

 

[fuzz]

Thanks for the input. I hope I have those rare-amazing-smart-non-flying-fat-chickens

 

[bragabit]

I have 5 foot fencing, and my chickens free range day and night. My dog climbed/jumped the fence last night and killed one of the babies. My rooster always jumps/flys to the top and crows and then jumps back down. The hens never jump or fly to the top.

 

[goldeneggtees]

Quote:
I'm thinking if I have problem chickens I will clip their wings but I really want them to be able to fly a little and not be impaired. Who knows what that could do to them. Does anybody clip their chickens wings?

Yea, I understand that clipping their wings could impair them to the point where they might not be able to fly up and away from a predator. Not sure what I will do really. Mine are just about 7 weeks old, so time will tell how much they may try and fly the coop, so to speak.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Personally, i would not want to take a chance with an uncovered run. But that's just me. More important than worrying about chickens flying out is that something may fly or crawl or hop in. We have hawks and feral cats during the day, then raccoons and possums and skunks at night. All it takes is one unexpected incident to lose all your chickens.

We use aviary netting over the top of the big girls pen. There is a large tree in there, so i wrapped it all around the branches in that area. It's not as secure as hardware cloth, but works for daytime predators. Then the girls are locked up tight in a super secure house at night.

If you are in an area where you feel it's safe to free-range and they have a secure coop at night, then i suppose it would not be as important to try to cover your run. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:
This is exactly the set up I have and why I'm covering my run too. The fence is 8ft high so I'm not too worried about them flying out but there is always that chance and my dogs would not be that forgiving! I also don't want anything swooping in to get them. Personal decision though so yes, good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Chicken Fruit]

I have 3 and 4 foot plastic poultry netting and plastic step in posts for my run. It moves about the yard every week or so. I am in the village and havent had any issue. If we were out in the country I'd probably have more precautions like more shelters and a fake owl or something.

When I was a kid we just had a little 10x20 run of chicken wire on metal stakes. We were well out in the country and didnt have any trouble with things escaping or being eaten.

I think for every 10 thousand people with predator and dog issues theres 1 that never has issues. I must be that one. We just never seem to have issues with predators...