Millihelen Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I have a White Sussex hybrid who is a persistent escapee. The chickens have their own part of the garden, fenced off with Omlet chicken fencing (about 3ft high) and she just flies over it. I have had chickens since 2008, but none of them have been like this; they would occasionally push their way under the fence if it was loose enough - but no flying. I think she is like this as we got her on a very windy day and she made a wind assisted leap over the fence within an hour of arriving! One wing is clipped - but doesn't seem to make any difference. I have two questions really _ Is it possible that I have done the clipping "wrong"? And - if I put up a temporary barrier (I could hang some garden netting from the tree across the top of the fence), will she learn not to try? If I cant stop her, I will have to look for a new home for her. It would be OK if it was just the lawn (she looks lovely wandering around scratching!) - its just we have a lot of gravel and pebbles with pots, and she is causing a lot of mess and work for us by digging out the pots and scattering the stones. Any advice - please?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heth1986 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Oh dear I had a similar issue with one of mine insisting on taking the leap of faith almost every day. I put some netting up about 6 feet high for a week or so and she hasn't tried since, I think she's learnt to stay where she's meant to be, she just needed to figure out exactly where home was and doesn't like to venture too far from her house now. So yes, it worked for me, but every chook is different and I'm sure others will have better advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I had to rig up a bit of netting to deter my new Araucana jumping off the bottom WIR stable door and over the Omlet netting . Word of warning though, don't use that flimsy garden netting as she could get caught up in it. There was a nasty story of someone's hen doing that and being pecked to death by the others while she was trapped there . I use that rigid black plastic netting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcharlie43 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Thank goodness it's not just me. I have exactly the same problem with my light sussex hybrid. She is now named Houdini!. Everytime I turn my back she has escaped the run and is destroying the garden. It means that they can now only FR when i m at home which is a shame for the other 3! She can jump at least a metre without flapping a wing and she can scale the door of the cube like a ladder with a little flap so that when the door of the cube is open to let them into the netted off area she is on top of the cube and over the other side in the blink of an eye!. I sympathise and am going to try and put some plant pots on the top of the cube to deter her. I have to say though that she makes me laugh and is a bit of a favourite because of her antics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millihelen Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I had to rig up a bit of netting to deter my new Araucana jumping off the bottom WIR stable door and over the Omlet netting . Word of warning though, don't use that flimsy garden netting as she could get caught up in it. There was a nasty story of someone's hen doing that and being pecked to death by the others while she was trapped there . I use that rigid black plastic netting. Good point about the netting - I will have a look what else is in the shed! I might try a row of 6ft canes stuck in along the fence - but I will need them in the garden in the summer. Has your Araucana got the message yet? I was hoping a temporary barrier would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I've seen her standing on the door ledge but she just jumps down after a while. I haven't dared to take the netting down yet . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 My Black Rock ahs decided that the grass is greener elsewhere this week Monday - I got home from work to find her in the garden behind us. She's jumped through a tiny gap we have in the fencing we have on the wall. Can't get in that garden ourselves. I walked round but no sign on neighbours so had to wait until she came back. DH then stuck trellis there to block the gap or so we thought. Wednesday - we had pruned the honeysuckle at the weekend and there was a tiny gap between the garage wall and fencing. Yep, you've guessed it. I looked out and she was in our part of the garden. DH has put wire across there now. Today - She's found another small gap and got into the garden of not only our adjoining neighbours but also done a repeat of Monday's excursion into teh garden behind. Can only assume she's forcing her way through thick ivy to get in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millihelen Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 My Speckledy has been doing the squeezing through gaps trick too. In the corner of their run we had the omlet fence running in front of the garden fence panel. Somehow she managed to get trapped between the two fences! I wondered why one chicken was missing at bed time - I had to half demolish their fence in the dark to get her out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Well, we're just back in from re-doing some of the netting on top of walls and filling in any gaps we could find. At least we didn't have to demolish fencing though to get a stuck chicken out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
