Will Chickens jump off a 5 foot rock wall?

[sn0wwhite]

I live sort of on a cliff. My back yard has a boulder retaining wall with about a 5 foot drop to a rather steep hill that continues to slope down about 50 feet until it levels off in a wooded area. I plan to have fences that go back to the wall, but fencing all the way around is going to be very difficult.

I'm wondering, can I let the chickens range in my back yard with the fencing on the sides, or will they hop off that wall and get stuck down the hill and I'll have to go rescue them? Or will the chickens, like my Chihuahua, be nervous about the drop and not jump off?

Thanks in advance for your help...

 

[Percheron chick]

If your hens are young and smaller bodied, they could fly up to the top of the wall. If they are full bodied hens that's unlikely. If you just figure out how to make it so they can't land on the wall, they'll stay in. A couple strands of high tensile wire inside the wall (at the top) or some wire sloped in will keep them off the wall.

I would be more worried about something getting over the wall and running off with one of the hens.

 

[sn0wwhite]

I wouldn't let them be out in the yard unless I was out with them, because there are foxes, hawks and raccoons in the neighborhood. But that's why I worry about them jumping down out of the yard and going down the hill. Maybe I should just keep them in a run. I'm planning a run with a top.

 

[sn0wwhite]

Just thought I'd mention now that they are older... yes, they will jump off, but in general they are not very adventurous. I put a 2 foot line of chicken wire on the top of the wall, and they act like it's a force field they cannot cross. Then, they go and fly 7 feet to the top of the under-construction coop rafters to roost instead.