Woodchick Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 One of my girls has just jumped - harrier jump jet style - straight over the omlet fencing. No-one has tried to escape before and my husband thinks it was just she thought he might have had food. I'm now really worried about leaving them to free-range in case she takes off whilst I'm not there. Does that seem likely? Her wing is clipped. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hmm. That is a bit worrying. But just because she has the ability to get out, doesn't mean she'll have the brain to decide to do it! Maybe it was just extreme and specific temptation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 some birds are flightier than others....is she normally a flighty girl? We had one chook fly on top of our caravan once (we took it back to the breeder) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I have one chook that, despite a clipped wing, does a vertical jump over the netting into the veg patch Various others have done it occasionally but panic when they realise they can't walk back out again (don't ask me why they can't jump out again ). They don't tend to do it a second time. Just Bella who waits until my back is turned then hops straight back in again!! It depends how much brain power the individual chook has I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 One of my girls has just jumped - harrier jump jet style - straight over the omlet fencing. No-one has tried to escape before and my husband thinks it was just she thought he might have had food. I'm now really worried about leaving them to free-range in case she takes off whilst I'm not there. Does that seem likely? Hilda is a jump jet, too. She doesn't need the incentive of food on the other side of the netting, she just has wanderlust (which she showed on her first night here when she tried a vertical take-off through the perspex roof of the run). I have to arrange things so that she can't make a break for the open road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodchick Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 Thanks. I think that's reassuring (and sorry for putting in wrong section - I realised too late). Let's hope it was a one off, so far so good this morning. I think she likes jumping, she went up on to the edge of a dustbin my OH was using, but so far it seems to have a purpose rather than to escape. In response to one of the other posters, yes, she is rather excitable - and greedy so not a good combination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Yep, is a problem - mainly because on the whole they dont' have the intelligence to get back the way they get out. they settle down as they get older - maybe they just get heavier as they get older (or is it just me that suffers from that?). I clip the wings of mine, and it makes no difference at all. Its a waste of time in my view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfYaffle Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Oh, don't say that Richard! We've had our chooks about 3 weeks I think, next door neighbours told us today that they have been sitting on our 7 ft high garden wall (chooks, not neighbours) so we just clipped their wings. I think they've been using a side gate as a stepping stone to get up higher so I've adorned it with flags we picked up from a carnival last weekend in the hope it'll put them off. Tell me it'll work, please ....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I think they've been using a side gate as a stepping stone to get up higher so I've adorned it with flags we picked up from a carnival last weekend in the hope it'll put them off. Tell me it'll work, please ....... thats exactly what I ended up doing. wires, flags, bits of plastic bag. It did eventually do the business and stopped them. so no more neighbours on the fence. As for the chickens - dream on...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfYaffle Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 i thought i had a chicken proof garden ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 i thought i had a chicken proof garden ..... Good to hear from another Norfolk chicken keeper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
