mahu Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Hello everyone Might sound a silly question....How high can My chickens Jump? I am letting them out tonight and my gate is about 3.5 ft will this be high enough or do I need a trip to B&Q on the way home? Thanks Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieP Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 They should probably be OK , as long as there is nothing near that they can launch from, ie use as a stepping stone. Mine once got on top of a 12 foot high stack of straw by jumping from one thing to another... I had to climb up to get them down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 My girls can land on a 5 foot chickenwire fence from a standstill, and easily hop on and off the eglu run. It depends whether they want to get out or not, they generally don't try now they have a territory. If you are out there with them you should be able to encourage them away from the fence however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poultry in Motion Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 If it's their first time out and there's enough to keep them amused in the garden, I wouldn't think they would try to get out. The advice we had from our Omlet delivery man was that chickens do not naturally try to escape - he said he had a fairly open garden and they generally kept inside it even with the opportunity to leave. This has been our experience too, they have shown no interest in an open gate if there's an area of lawn to be scratched. The only exception is if there is something they want, for example a lush meadow they can see on the other side of the gate, they might try to get there. Otherwise I think they have the pretty sensible attitude that if this place has everything I want (some grass, patches of dirt, places to peck and scratch) then why make the effort of trying to escape? Don't worry, it's not like "Chicken Run" in reality! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina C Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 Mine crossed the road to go to a neighbours beautiful green lawn last autumn when our was looking a bit sorry for itself. Our garden is not fenced and their favourite place when free-ranging is under the beech hedge but now they know their territory they don't wander off. However, I am sure they sometimes just follow their beaks and could end up anywhere if they spot something appetising. I am amazed at how much ground they seem to cover in a short space of time - they flit from one place to another in search of tasty morsels. Just make sure you have some corn or treats handy to entice them back in if they do decide to go over the gate. and don't let them out when you can't keep an eye on them, just in case a dog or fox decides to jump over the gate. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahu Posted May 15, 2007 Author Share Posted May 15, 2007 Thanks for the advice everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basset Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 Hi, My garden fence is just 3ft high and the chooks never try to escape. EXCEPT for the one time when I stupidly decided to empty the final bits of bark chippings into the run and flapped the plastic bag!!!! In their terror they all jumped into the neighbours garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
