[tonette]

fist of all "Hello" I am new on here I have 2 chickens I have had my girls a year now and I love them to bits... we converted a very large dog kennel into their chicken house which we put on top of a strong crate and then joined the 7ft high by 10ft in length chicken run, the chicken run is on concrete and has bark on it which is changed monthly. Any way we live in town as I didn't want to risk leaving my girls out with my horses ( we have horses also) as the fox would know that our chickens would be more vulnerable so we decided to keep the girls at home until we move house...... So my question is can I let them out while I am in the garden? We have 6ft fencing all around our garden but our chickens have not had their wings clipped and I didn't really want to have to do that..... but it would be nice to let them wonder around while I was in the garden

[compostqueen]

Mine have been foxed so I'd let them out whilst you're with them but I wouldn't take my eyes off them. I know some folks let them roam about and don't worry over them but if I can't see them I can't rest 

[scrappydoo]

  Hi tonette
  I let mine out when I/We are about, but beware  if you have anything of value to you in the plant world you won't have for very long as they will soon strip things bare .

Best Regards

Steve

[LittleRedHen]

Steve is spot on.  We've had our hens since last April, and our garden is nothing but mud and just the larger plants and shrubs.  The hens are now in the process of digging mammoth holes and eating roots.   

[beulah59]

They'll think of the run as home after all this time, so it shouldn't be a problem.

[walker]

fist of all "Hello" I am new on here I have 2 chickens I have had my girls a year now and I love them to bits... we converted a very large dog kennel into their chicken house which we put on top of a strong crate and then joined the 7ft high by 10ft in length chicken run, the chicken run is on concrete and has bark on it which is changed monthly. Any way we live in town as I didn't want to risk leaving my girls out with my horses ( we have horses also) as the fox would know that our chickens would be more vulnerable so we decided to keep the girls at home until we move house...... So my question is can I let them out while I am in the garden? We have 6ft fencing all around our garden but our chickens have not had their wings clipped and I didn't really want to have to do that..... but it would be nice to let them wonder around while I was in the garden

as long as your garden is fenced in and your there i dont see it being a problem,as for the wing not being clipped people have varied experience with fence heights some chucks will be more flighty than others and some might not bother.our large light sussex try to escape at every chance even with wing clipped