Fence height to contain flock

[ShafferFamilyFarm]

May have been discussed, but much seemed about keeping predators out vs hens in.
My flock of 45 is currently surrounded by a temporary 48” chain link fence in about a 5,000sf area on our farm. Problem is probably 75% of them can fly up to the top pole of the fence, then hop down the other side, so they’ve been ranging all over our farm as we’ve been building our permanent home. Home is built and we’re ready to build their permanent fencing, and we’re tired of having hens wandering through our new garden area, pooping all over the driveway and porch, etc. so I want to ensure I can contain most of them inside their area.

Any recommendations? I have a few hundred feet of new 72” tall horse fencing that I could use, but it’s pretty spendy fencing and was hoping to use for a deer-proof vegetable garden, and not sure if 6’ is overkill for chickens. Maybe just some 5-foot fencing with a wire sitting just over the top to keep them from jumping up to a top and landing on a solid surface? Just some initial thought. Wondering if you’all have and successful fencing that keeps most the birds in?

Note - it’s not really an all or nothing question. I know some individual breed are better flyers than others. I’d Rather have 3 wanderers on the porch than 23. And I can make their new space larger (like 10,000sf) if really needed as I have plenty of space on that area of the farm. They have a few small trees, and I could incorporate perches, etc. so plenty of stuff to keep their area enticing. So just looking for general success stories. Thanks.

 

[nuthatched]

I use 8 ft deer fencing and some can still fly over. It helped when I clipped one wing.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have similar problems - most of my birds won't go over a 4' fence, but will absolutely jump/fly to any horizontal surface in the 4' to 4' 6" range (meaning the top of the gate), and from there to the other side. A few of them can even balance, briefly, on the top of a graduated livestock fence, and from there over when they are sufficiently motivated (I think that's 10 ga wire).

I finally stopped them by adding a standoff wire on the side they jump from, near the top height of the fence - they hit it on their way to the desired perching spot! Maybe they figure it out eventually - its 14.5 ga wire, so pretty thin - but they've not figured it out yet. With 4 or 5" plastic insulators, you could electrify it, ground your existing fence, and use it as part of your overall predator proteciton system - electric being the only cost effective way to protect large areas.

 

[Ponypoor]

You need to get Silkie - they can't fly worth beans

I have some 48" electric net fencing that my other chickens haven't tried to fly over or up on - yet! So far I don't have it electrified but the first time someone tries to fly up on it I will plug it in... I love electric fencing - controls kids, horses, dogs.... and hopefully now chickens - if needed. I think the reason they haven't tried to fly up on the netting is that it isn't substantial looking.

It's expensive but might be worth looking into. You can get varieties for sheep/goats, and chickens. The chicken variety has a small ~3"x3" hole structure.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Attaching some sort of floppy fencing (whether a strand of wire, or netting or snow fencing held taut between posts) should help deter them from going over anything 4' or so.

Some birds may be able to fly straight over, but most chickens are inclined to get to the top of the fence, land, then jump over, so this is taking away the "landing on top" part.

I have birds that've cleared 6' fencing (without a floppy top) without issue, back when my run wasn't covered.

 

[TXChookstead]

Reading this about 4 months later. I'm about to put in garden beds I'd like to protect and also want to keep the poo away from the back porch and other areas the kids generally frequent. (The entire yard already has 6' wood fencing around it, so I'm hoping to divide off a "chicken territory" with wire fencing within the larger yard. They have been free-ranging the whole space, and it gets...well, you know.)

So it sounds like 4' will be OK, provided there is a single wire run along the top to keep them from landing on top of the wire fence. I'd been trying to decide between 4' and 5', and everyone's input here really helped. (The chickens had no problem getting over the 6' wooden fence until I clipped one wing's feathers on each bird. I totally get the extra wire on top keeping them from getting a good perch to flutter down from.)

Any further advice?

 

[3KillerBs]

Any further advice?

My experience so far is that the birds most inclined to wander are the Point-of-Lay pullets. I am guessing that their instincts are telling them to seek out nesting sites and they haven't worked out that the boxes in the coop are exactly what they're looking for.

 

[TXChookstead]

Yup, that's the point at which they hopped the 6' fence. The rooster also liked to hop up on the roof of the house! (There is a tree near the coop that makes that feat easier.) They aren't trying that now, thankfully.

The other option I've thought of is one of the giant pens you can pick up on Amazon or Wayfair that have steel tubing and chicken netting stretched over them. It would protect from aerial predators as well as containing the chickens (though we have mostly buzzards that aren't interested). They just limit the height of anything put inside them, and are quite pricey.... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YFLNLDL/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_4?smid=A308TXLYHTTMA5&psc=1

Not sure what folks think about these? The area I was going to fence in would be larger than the size of the pen, however.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yup, that's the point at which they hopped the 6' fence. The rooster also liked to hop up on the roof of the house! (There is a tree near the coop that makes that feat easier.) They aren't trying that now, thankfully.

The other option I've thought of is one of the giant pens you can pick up on Amazon or Wayfair that have steel tubing and chicken netting stretched over them. It would protect from aerial predators as well as containing the chickens (though we have mostly buzzards that aren't interested). They just limit the height of anything put inside them, and are quite pricey.... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YFLNLDL/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_4?smid=A308TXLYHTTMA5&psc=1

Not sure what folks think about these? The area I was going to fence in would be larger than the size of the pen, however.

I personally take the tradeoff of potentially losing birds to hawks in order to give them more space. That decision will be made differently by different people.

To my mind, the main issue with those frames is that you have to re-wire them because chicken wire contains chickens but doesn't keep out anything that might eat them *except* the hawks. Dogs, coyotes, and raccoons will rip right through it.

 

[TXChookstead]

Yes, and re-wiring would make them crazy expensive! Sounds like using wire fencing for bigger space makes more sense. We have tried to hawk-proof in other ways (including a life-size department-store mannequin donated by a neighbor! She is a hoot.... The kids named her and like to add strange accessories to her).

We are currently incubating a batch of eggs. The littles we keep will need their own space in a couple of months, so the flexibility of wire fencing will help with that, too. (But first, we need to set up the brooder and then retrofit an old playhouse as a second coop!)

Thanks so much for your input!