[DMT2011]

Got home from work today having left the chickens ( had them 3 days ) in their run ( no roof ).

Two were sat perched outside the patio doors taunting the cats inside who couldn't take their eyes off them.

The other was sitting on its own on the gate on the drive peeping over!

Scooped them up and put them back in the run.

They didn't seem to leave the actual perimeter of the garden although clearly capable!
Any views / experiences re. chickens absconding are welcome!

[Lindeggs]

I've been surprised what excellent escape artists mine are! 

Hubby has never been keen on getting chickens so I wanted to demonstrate how well behaved ours are.  They had been free-ranging on the lawn and we were about to go out so I called them all into their run and closed the gate behind them. 

I went inside and said (very self-satisfied) "that's all the chickens put away then."  Hubby looked out the window and said "except those two on the lawn."  :blink:

Sure enough it had taken them about 2 minutes to get out and be back pecking around on the lawn.

Since then I have double-checked the run and filled in every tiny gap but I never did work out where they got out. 

P.S. We are in the very fortunate position of not having predators (except domestic animals) so my run doesn't have to be roofed or fox-proof.  But I would be very nervous if I lived in a place with lots of animals that want to eat my chickens.

[Pertelotte]

"They didn't seem to leave the actual perimeter of the garden although clearly capable!"

Give it time! 

Welcome to my world!

Pertelotte x 

[Dominic]

My chicks figured out how to escape their dog crate, didnt go very far either.

[rachelr]

mine loved the look of the next doors pristine rose bed and promptly dug up the whole lot in one after noon

[Casey76]

mine loved the look of the next doors pristine rose bed and promptly dug up the whole lot in one after noon

Ooops! 

[LittleRedHen]

OMG!  I think I would have to owe that neighbour eggs for a very long time after digging up all the roses.  I had roses in my back garden where the hens were kept before we moved and I never had an aphid problem because they kept digging up the roots and eating all of the ants.  The roses bloomed just fine.  I had to keep filling in around the roots though.

[evie2]

The friend we got our first chickens from was blissfully unaware the whilst she was at work her hens took themselves off on a wonder round the neighbours, returning just before she got home

It must have been genetic because the ones we got from her liked to follow our postman on his rounds

[andreadon]

when i lived on the farm, ours regularly ran off to behind the grain silos (bet you can work out why!  )

they disappeared sooo quickly. You'd only need to go, oh, yes, there they are under the fir tree, then they'll have gone!
 

we had to surround the entire garden in flimsy chicken wire to stop them running off (they wouldn't jump over it)

[penninehillbilly]

It must have been genetic because the ones we got from her liked to follow our postman on his rounds

That conjures up an interesting picture, a little(?) flock of hens following postie in single file

[ANHBUC]

we had to surround the entire garden in flimsy chicken wire to stop them running off (they wouldn't jump over it)
[/quote]

My 4 Black Rocks have no problem flying over their 4 feet high fencing.  I watched Little Miss Sunshine fly like a Harrier Jump Jet into our Silver Birch tree.  I measured the height - 7 feet, yes not a typo seven feet.  I will have to rethink their enclosure   

[andreadon]

I'm not denying that chickens do jump high fences - it's just that ours wouldn't attempt the wire if it was flimsy!
they jumped up steps, and flew/flapped/jumped everywhere else, but never the chicken wire!