I'm not worthy to have chickens

I'm not worthy and my chickens prove it to me every day by ignoring the fence and free ranging all over my place

which I'd be fine with if they didn't hide their eggs somewhere new every couple days

they do all come back to the coop but they fly too well and are too clever.

so I thought I'd build a pasture pen outa a tent garage frame and cheap plastic bird netting netting tricked three of them into it for a test run and within an hour they left

they are mostly Ameraucana with a couple aging reds and a barred rock who do seem to be less clever about their escapes did I just pick the wrong breed?

try not taking all the eggs from their favorite spot or leaving a few fake eggs... or not letting them out until noon.

of course I'd also like them to stay outa the flower beds

them scratching up seedlings upsets my lady
I spent some time with the pasture pen today and it looks like they went out under the netting, could I weight it down with a peice of chain to make it conform to the ground?

why not fence them out of the garden then?

How high are your fences?
Do the chooks have ONE wing clipped?
Make sure the nesting boxes are dark and private.
Are you feeding them early? As early as you can handle...full chooks are less likely to spend their days planning and executing escapes!
Unfortunately I think Americaunas are relatively bright. You can always eat them and get some dim but delightful orpingtons. Whatever you do, keep away from bantams as they're smart, agile, and permanently broody.

on a review of material here and on richsoil.com I think I like the chicken paddock idea

but that means I need to find a tight 7-8' fence that I can put up for less than $1 foot preferably moveable

I'm wondering if pvc pipe or coduit would work for fence poles

current fence is five feet and they fly on over like nuthing only ones that stay in if I close the gate on the run are the two reds

I hate the notion of clipping thier wings though

brice Moss wrote:


I hate the notion of clipping thier wings though

It really doesn't seem to bother them at all.

Consider paddocks with portable electric net fencing.  Very easy to move around.

You only clip the feathers, you know.

lavenderdawn wrote:
You only clip the feathers, you know.

yes, the tips of the feathers. Make sure you don't do it soon after a molt, or too close to the base, as this will cause bleeding and the only safe way to stop the bleeding is then to pull out the entire feather, which isn't what you were trying to do!

so today I saw one of my evil escape artist half feral chickens eat a gardener snake

she pecked at its head till it stopped trying to get away and then swallowed it whole while it tried to crawl backwards out of her beak took her about ten minutes to get it down.
so now I know my chickens are a lil psycho just like every one else here.

on another note with one wing trimmed back to the edge of the blood vein half of them are still able to make the four foot leap to the top of the fence, but it has slowed them down so I think I may be able to work with the electric poultry netting once they figure out it hurts to touch it

brice Moss wrote:
so today I saw one of my evil escape artist half feral chickens eat a gardener snake

No pictures?