Will my hens escape?
Discussion
We have a hedge boundary at the rear which is patchy in places, especially at this time of year. The hens will have a run but we still want to let them into the garden occasionally. How likely are they to get out? The photos show some of the thinner parts of the hedge. I have heard they don't stray too far from their roost/food, is this true?
Any advice gratefully received.
Any advice gratefully received.
I think you will be fine with the hedge. Mine have a few places where there is just thin hedge rather than hedge and chicken wire and they can never be bothered to pick their way out. Five bar gates etc. yes under , over etc. They may not be able to fly but winged assisted jumping is fine and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. They do always come back to the roost and food in the evening. They don't roam huge distances but do like any bird feeders locally
They'll get out. They know where home is to come back each night but eventually they tend to go broody, find somewhere well hidden to lay a clutch of eggs and that's the last you'll see of them if you let them free range. Or the fox takes them. All of mine in the past got the wanderlust after about 9 months and that was the last I saw of each of them.
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