Back to the wild

[chickenfan]

This year I let my lazy, laid back booted bantam cock breed with a lovely bantam speckled sussex. It has resulted in pretty birds which are much more like normal birds than chickens, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I can't contain one of them within the garden as she flies over the 8 ft boundary and it I don't catch them before dusk they go high into the trees at night to roost. Every night is a real battle to get them into the house. Are they safe in the trees? They are the first birds I've had which go beyond the garden and I don't know how they have come out so unlike what I bred from.

 

[valeriebutterley]

I have a local friend who lives more in town than I do, she has a neighbour who has a flock of Leghorns, who roost in her trees, always.
I have heard the cockerel, so I know she still has them, so it must work out, apparently nothing she can do about it, there are loads of foxes in Camberley.
It is not something I would encourage with mine. My Ancona growers pen is overhung with trees and they fly round the pen trying to get to the trees.
I wonder what I've let myself in for with these little dotty beauties, they do seem to like the sky!

 

[Marigold]

Does your neighbour mind if she flies over the boundary and into her garden? If not, I wouldn't think roosting in trees is in itself a problem, as they are safe from predators up there and have an alternative if they want to use it. After all, it is the natural way for chickens to roost, they might feel stressed if confined. Plenty of ventilation, and less coop cleaning for you to do!

 

[dinosaw]

They will be safe roosting in the trees while feathered, the problem will come when they moult as they won't be able to get up there anymore and you will be reduced to catching them again. I hope you don't mind me saying Chickenfan but from what you have said in other posts about your setup my suggestion for the future would be that if you build any more pens then build them long and narrow rather than as large squares and you will find roofing/netting as well as providing separate quarters a lot easier and not have the same problems in containment. If you are able then subdividing what you already have to say 3 10m x 3m runs instead on one 10m x 9m would achieve the same purpose.

 

[chickenfan]

Thank you all for your replies. The stray one doesn't fly into anyone's gardens, but into the woodland, where she is not at all safe. She is just like a pigeon. I have now put the three of them into a large roofed pen. I have always enjoyed having the birds free in a series of divided sections of garden. Not sure where I've gone wrong with these and whether I can retrain them? Someone has suggested straining wire and a lightweight roof for my allotment.

 

[chrismahon]

Our Leghorn Bantams would fly out of the runs if it wasn't for the debris netting we've added over the top of them. It is very light and comparatively cheap and comes in 2 or 3m wide rolls. Scaffolding Direct sell it. Snow isn't a problem here usually, because even a light fall would bring it down as it is only supported by garden canes. If snow is forecast we are going to have to remove it.

Problem is that the fox will know they are in the trees and wait for the first one to fly down- this is why we ended up with a lonely cock called Boris, who was the only one in the flock that used the coop to roost.

 

[chickenfan]

Thank you Chris and thanks for the details of scaffolding direct, which I'm sure will be useful.