[Floss16]

Hi,  We have two lovely chickens that we got at the weekend and all is well, they are feeding well and they even put themselves to bed it is great.  The children love them to bits and have been out every morning and opening their roost box and feeding them.  They have not had their wings clipped.  I have been letting them out into the garden every day I have a 6ft fence my neighbours also have chickens i'm just worried about them flying of.  What are peoples thoughts out there?

[niccigroves]

I would be inclined to clip one side as I used to live next door to someone with a 6ft fence between us and one of my girls managed to fly up onto the patio table then onto a tree and then over the fence! It wont hurt to unsteady them slightly and try to prevent them escaping.

[Lindeggs]

My place is surrounded by 6 ft fences, all apart from the gate which is only about 5 ft high.  My six pullets free range all day and never shown any sign of leaving.

BUT as your neighbour also has hens, I don't know how strong the urge will be to go over the fence for a visit.  If your neighbour has a cockerel I'm sure he will try to lure your girls away!

I would suggest observing your chickens carefully as their behaviour will give you a clue.  If they spend a lot of time looking up, assessing the height of the fence and/or jumping up on other things like tables and chairs, then they are planning an escape!  In that case you could clip a wing or take other action.

Another solution is to make temporary extensions to the top of the fence and loop some bird netting or soft mesh between them.  The chooks might be tempted to hop on top of a solid fence but they can't land on a loose surface, so are unlikely to try.

[gracie]

I haven't clipped mine yet. One of them regularly goes on the shed but never the fence. They never even attempt to go near the open gate. Wouldnt hesitate to clip if this changed but I have read that some people have said their chickens still continue to fly.

[Sassy]

They may well try to get to the other chooks but I would wait and see. I only clip wings if there is a problem. If a fox got in it would be harder for them to get a way. Mine do not have the distraction of chooky neighbours but even if I have clipped a wing I do not have to re do it. Yes they can still fly quite well with them clipped - some are better than others.

[Dominic]

mine sit on the fences, but have never crossed over