Will clipping wings keep chickens in 4 foot chain link fence?

[MyFrancesca]

Yet again we have the neighborhood chasing our chickens through the front yard. 2 days in a row we have come outside to grown adults running around the yard, chasing chickens..."Did you know there are chickens in your yard?" Yes...we know. I'm glad you find it necessary to come into our yard and chase the chickens...people obviously forget their boundaries when they see an "odd" animal in the city. Would they chase my cat or dog through the front yard? I doubt it.

However, the chickens have been fenced in on all areas of the yard but CONTINUE to find little secret areas we never saw - so this has been a watch and fix game for the past several months. We have a double lot, each fenced in with the typical 4 foot chain link. We have built the fence up in their area to 7 feet with chicken wire. However, there is a gate that connects both backyards where we can't build up the fence so my husband said we should clip their wings and see if it keeps them from hopping over in this spot. I am positive the chickens could still jump that high.

I've been voting for making a chicken run but that would be the most logical and my husband wants them to continue free ranging.

Anyone know how far they can jump with clipped wings?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What does it hurt to try clipping a wing to see what happens? There is a “how to” up in the Learning Center at the top of this page.

Can a chicken with a clipped wing get over a 4’ high fence? It depends a bit on their age and size and a lot on their motivation. I don’t know what is motivating your chickens to get out.

I don’t know what your gate looks like or how important appearance is to you, but there are often ways to extend it up and you still be able to walk through it. One way is to build a new gate. Or you may be able to extend stiff wire or wood on up. If you want to bad enough, you can find a way.

One way that many chickens get out is they fly up to the top rail of the fence to perch, then hop down on the wrong side. If your fence or gate has a top rail, a post top sticking up, or something solid that looks like they could perch on it, it’s an invitation to try to get out.