Will My Chickens Fly Away Home?

[divinebovine]

I'm in the process of designing a coop/run for 4-6 chickens. My ideal goal is to let the girls out in the morning to peck around the backyard and veggie garden, but...this is stupid...what are the chances of them taking off and flying into a neighbors yard? I haven't been around live ones since I was a kid, and that was back when dirt was new. Can someone explain chicken aeronautics to me without laughing too hard:/

 

[Camelot Farms]

Mine only wander when they are bored or starved...lol.

My breeds are 'heavy' so they dont fly at all. So, if you have a fence, you should be fine.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[dsqard]

The more comfortable they get with their surroundings, the further they will roam. I had to chase mine down last evening because they weren't ready to go in yet. Granted it was not dark yet but it was starting to get dark. I think if I had waited they would have gone in to roost. I don't know about the aerodynamics of a chicken but they can get up into trees I have read on here. Main thing is, make sure they know where home is before you start letting them roam around. I waited a couple of weeks before letting them free range. Good luck and loved the "back when dirt was new"!

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

I have a 6' high fence. The only ones that have flown high enough to get to the top of the fence are the Old English Game Bantams. Then they just walked the top of the fence so they could lord over all the other chickens. They didn't go into the neighbor's property at all (surprisingly.)

 

[chiclet]

I've got 3 Old English game bantams, and they LOVE exploring the neighborhood. Fly right over the 10' fence. Even came up to the balcony to see me one time...
i plan on giving my neighbors many eggs to make them happy...

 

[BrewedInNh]

We have 2 Leghorns that are about 13 weeks old. They can easily fly to the peak of the coop roof which is almost 8 feet high. They've only done it once, so far, and didn't seem to like it up there.

Our others are heavy breeds, so they hardly get off the ground. It cracks me up every time I see them running full speed across the yard with their wings extended out. Reminds me of 3 year old kids playing airplane.

 

[newchicksnducks]

My EE can fly over a 6 ft fence. A lot depends on your breed whether they will take flight or not. You can always clip ONE wing (to make flying unbalanced and therefore not to be desired) to help with the no fly zone. But a fence will be needed to keep the girls around. They will wonder further away from the coop as their confidence in the area grows. They will return home to roost, but if you don't know what predators abound or whether neighbors would take kindly to uninvited guests, you might want to keep the hens close to home.

 

[sourland]

Depends upon the breed. Most of the brown egg layer "meatier" type birds are less likely to fly than the Mediterranean breeds.

 

[myramelinda]

i have a covered chicken coop and run but today i opened their pen and let them roam around the enclosed area outside their coop...this afternoon i found all 4 of them on top of the fence and out of the coop....they flew up there and acted like they didn't know how to get down until i went to help them and then they flew back into the pen....i have 2 rhode island red and two plymouth barred rocks....i don't want them flying so how do i prevent this?