enclosing a "free range" space

[kat_and_hens]

hey all! We are talking about spring chicken plans over here and one of those plans is managing the flock in our yard, while protecting them from a few hazards like traffic and dogs.

We keep our chickens in our side yard, because we have a pool in the back yard (fenced). We have a good sized coop and run but we also want our chickens to be able to free range during the days. I want to put up some kind of fence or chicken wire in our front/side yard to keep the chickens out of the road and out of the neighbors' yards (we are on a cul de sac of 6 houses, and while all my neighbors are friendly I don't think they have any interest in chickens in their yards!) Also, we live next door to my parents, who have a very sweet but very prey-aggressive dog who I think would kill a chicken without blinking if it happened to wander over to their house.

I'm looking at something like the Omlet fencing (https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/omlet_chicken_fencing/) to block off our side yard or part of our front yard to keep chickens out of the road and keep dogs/people walking by from bothering them, but my husband pointed out they could likely fly over this fencing, which is 4' tall. I don't know if they will, but we have never had chickens before.

To help you visualize our property, I'm putting in this google maps image so you can see our property and where the coop is currently (in red). Don't worry I blurred our address The skinny part of the L shape, behind the coop and run, is an orchard area that would be difficult to fence, but would provide great cover for foraging and protect a little more from hawks. The house with the pink dot is my parents' house.

Do you use chicken wire/fencing to guide free ranging birds? Has anyone had success with this? Or will my hens stay close enough to their coop I won't need to worry too much? Am I overthinking this?

 

[DobieLover]

My first year I free ranged. Those birds went far. Caught them marching up the road one day. Went across the road into the woods, over to the neighbors to dust bathe in their garden mulch, ate the bird feeder cast offs, raided the neighbors veggie garden, crapped all over my porch, deck, steps and walkways. It got old fast.
I bought three 164' long, 42" high lengths of poultry netting, connected them and powered the fence with a 10,000 volt/1.2 Joule output charger and fenced them into a 1/3 acre space. They learned to love it in there. So far, 5 dogs that I know of have been zapped by the fence and none have been back for seconds.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Chicken wire will barely slow down a dog. (It will keep chickens in, but won't keep anything else OUT. Nor will a 4 foot fence. (If the dog is athletic and not a tiny dog, jumping 4 feet is nothing.)

 

[Alaskan]

Yes, you need a fence.

But... you need a dog safe fence.

Usually, with a large area electric fencing is the most cost effective.

With a short fence, you might need to trim wing feathers to keep chickens within the fence.

 

[K0k0shka]

Aside from what everybody else has said (chickens and dogs jumping the fence and dogs ripping it if it's chicken wire), I want to point out that with the top open like that, and especially without dense tree cover, you present your chickens on a platter for the neighborhood hawks and other aerial predators. So expect losses unless you cover the top somehow (mesh or a roof).

 

[Yardmom]

TSC and other farm stores sell cattle/horse mesh fences in various heights. We use the 4 foot kind on our dogs and goats. The chickens can fly in but rarely do. It will depend on the bird how well they can fly. It is possible to clip wings. A average dog will not jump a 4 foot fence, but take a look at the neighborhood dogs to see if there are jumpers or climbers that could be left unsupervised. All free ranging requires weighing the risks.

 

[feather13]

We have a similar configuration and fenced in a fairly large area attached to the coop with an entirely enclosed run. Even with a six foot wall all around with a ten foot drop on the other side into neighbors' yards, our chickens still love to free range and roam the neighborhood, sometimes getting eaten by dogs and sometimes having a hard time getting home.

What we did is build a big wood frame attached to the the coop and enclosed it top to bottom completely in half inch hardware cloth (see photos). It cost $$$, time, and cut up hands (even with gloves), but was worth it. I travel frequently, so while I'm gone the chickens have a big, safe space to be in. I would definitely not use the Omlet fencing you showed.

 

[Spikeandbean]

You've got a lot of good advice here, so I'll just add that I have the Omlet fencing - and while I find it convenient to use, it would not keep out dogs. (I do not have an issue with them flying over it, although they technically could.)

 

[HiEverybirdy]

There's probably no such thing as over-thinking predator protection. Good on you for thinking it over! What kind of chickens will you have? Some fly more than others, though most chickens can hop over a 4' fence.

After losing a hard-fought argument with my SO about free ranging (I wanted to, and he said no way), we enclosed 2K square feet with 6' welded wire and a 3-wire electric fence. Here's a drone photo.

I'm grateful every day for losing that argument! Any predator you can think of cruises by our trail cameras on a regular basis, not to mention neighbor dogs and our dogs. A quick zap from an electric fence is a non-traumatic way to prevent tragedy, and the 6' fence prevents our earthbound, "non-flighty" breeds from flying out, for the most part.

In the future, I want an area that's like what @feather13 has. #goals! Even with roosters, strings/shiny things, and partial tree cover, raptors are a constant concern. When we leave, the birds are locked in their coops – each has a covered run with hardware cloth, keyed locks, apron – because predators are bolder when humans aren't around (we're surrounded by dense woods, so when we leave, it's wild kingdom around here).

IMHO, the more you "overbuild," the happier you and your birds will be. Good luck and have fun!

 

[feather13]

@HiEverybirdy: Your yard, set up, and forest are so gorgeous!!! This suburban chickeneer is jealous We've had soooo many predator losses due to my steep chicken keeping learning curve that fully covering was necessary (even if it was really expensive). I use zip ties and wire to keep the hardware cloth together. So much of our chickening time is devoted to keeping opossums and raccoons from killing our hens.

Yes--getting non-flighty birds makes life easier. We have a wayward Fayoumi who likes to lure the other, standard girls over a high wall and into neighbors' yards. For us, it's a toss up between the heat-tolerant Mediterranean breeds and chickens that are happy sticking closer to home.

Good luck with perfecting your set up!