Backyard chickens have many advantages because they can give you lots of eggs for free! Your pet chicken can supply you with lots of eggs if you take care of your pet chicken properly. However, raising chickens requires lots of effort. You need to secure your pet chicken properly to avoid unwanted accidents that might occur.
Chickens escape. Yes! There are lots of chances that your pet chicken will escape, especially if you don’t make the security better. Once your chicken escapes, your pet chicken might cause accidents to your neighbors, to you, or other chickens or pets. However, what are the reasons why chickens try to escape? Let us find out!
Why do chickens try to escape? The main reason why chickens try to escape is that they are not used to a new place or they don’t recognize their home or coop. Chickens try to escape if they feel scared. Also, chickens try to escape if their owner abuses or hurts them a lot. Chickens may also try to escape if they are lost.
Today, you will learn lots of new things about chickens. If you are a new chicken owner, you must finish reading this awesome article. I will tell you the other different reasons why chickens try to escape and how you can prevent this from happening. You will know the real behavior of chickens after reading this.
4 Different Reasons Why Your Chicken Try To Escape
There are some instances where a chicken might run away or try to escape. Yes! Chickens will also try to escape even in their own home. That is why every chicken owner must ensure that the cage of their pet chickens is safe and will not let their pet chickens escape.
Chickens that are used to their own homes normally don’t try to escape. However, it is still possible. The chances that your pet chicken might escape depends on the cage, how you treat your pet chicken, and your pet chicken’s personality. Knowing the reasons why your pet chicken tries to escape will help you implement the right strategy to keep your pet chicken inside its coop.
I already told you the main reason why chickens try to escape earlier. But I want to give you a broader reason why chickens try to escape. So, what are the reasons why chickens try to escape? Let us find out!
The Chicken Is Not Used To The New Place
We humans have a hard time adjusting if we are put in a new place or situation. We need to adjust to a new place for us to function well whether it is a new job or in a new school. However, we humans have different dynamics and understanding compared to chickens. We humans will take time to analyze our new surroundings while chickens will run away.
Let us say that you have a pet chicken and you transferred your pet chicken to a new cage or home. If you let your pet chicken walk in the new area, your pet chicken will roam immediately and will make loud noises. Your pet chicken is not that smart. That is why you have to guide your pet chicken if you bring it to their new home or cage.
Like I have said above, you should properly close the cage of your pet chicken for a few days. You should give them water, food, and perches while your pet chicken is still adjusting to its new home. By doing that, it will make your pet chicken get used to its new home and remember where to go home after going out.
Once you lock down your chickens or pet chickens inside their new home, you should not worry anymore and be confident that they will return home on their own. You can’t just leave your pet chickens in their cage. You need to give them the freedom to roam around your garden or backyard. That is why you are obliged to teach your pet chicken to identify its home.
The Chicken Is Scared
There are lots of things that can scare your chickens, which can result in them trying to escape. This is normal. We, human beings, also have this kind of reaction if we are scared or shocked.
If your chickens run away after being scared, they usually come back to their considered home. Chickens will embrace their coops or cages as their comfort and safe zone. Chickens that are hiding for lots of days are determined to be shocked.
However, some chickens that escaped or ran away so far may not return. They are not that smart to have a solution to find their way back. If your chicken is unable to come back at night, try calling them and help them find the right direction to their house.
You must avoid things that scare or traumatize your pet chickens. If your chickens had enough, your pet chickens will try to escape. Loud sounds, dogs, cats, other bigger animals, and even you can scare or traumatize your pet chickens. If you abuse your pet chickens, your pet chickens might also try to escape from you.
The Chicken Is Lost
Chickens are not as intelligent as humans. That is why if chickens roam around and reach unfamiliar spots or places, chickens tend to run away or try to escape from that area.
You should raise the height of the fence of your chickens. The reason why you should do this is to prevent your chickens from breaking free in these kinds of situations. If your chickens escape from your current fence, your chickens will get confused about how to return and might get lost.
Also, chickens can fly. Not high as birds. But they can reach the top of the tree. If the fence is not high, your chickens might fly and try to escape. Once your chickens escape, they will get confused and might get lost.
The Chicken Wants To Wander Outside
The next reason why chickens try to escape is that they want to wander outside their coop or cage. Chickens are wanderers. They are curious animals that love to walk and play outside the farm or garden.
This usually happens to chickens that are locked for most of the time inside their cage or barn. Chickens need some freedom to wander or play outside their cage or coop. You should not prevent your chickens from leaving their home. Your chicken might get stressed and die because of it.
How To Prevent Your Chicken From Escaping?
Now that we know why chickens try to escape, let us find out some ways to prevent them from escaping. These tips are helpful because they are based on personal experience and were researched by me.
Put High Barriers Or Fences
Putting or setting up a high barrier or fence is the first must thing you must do to control your chickens and prevent them from escaping. Chickens can fly off up to a certain height. They don’t fly like eagles, but they can fly pretty high.
What you can execute is to prevent your chickens from reaching the fence you put up. Calculate how high chickens usually fly. After that, buy a high barrier or fence that will give your chickens a hard time escaping.
Chickens have a wide range of breeds. Some chickens can fly higher than other breeds of chickens. Also, it depends on the gender of the chicken. Chickens usually reach up to ten feet. However, some breeds can go higher than that.
I did not say that you put ten or twelve feet barriers or fences. The first thing you must do is to know your chicken’s breed and how high it flies. Once you identify this, you can effortlessly decide how high your fences should be.
Create A Coop Enclosure
Fences or barriers are good to prevent your chickens from escaping. You can also protect your chickens from different predators that love to eat chickens by placing a good and strong enclosure.
However, what is a coop enclosure? Coop enclosures are just coops but they are more secured and enclosed for chickens’ safety. Insects are also dangerous for your chickens. That is why the floors should also be confined.
If you will make a chicken coop, make sure that your chickens have enough space to move or run. Give your chickens some access to grass and room to play. You need to have at least two or three square feet of space for each chicken inside the coop. For the outside, eight to nine square feet is what I recommend.
Enclosing the coop of your chickens will stop them from trying to escape and will protect them from various predators out there. Yes! High fences are effective but covering the upper area of their house is better.
Will Your Chickens Try To Escape If You Let It?
Chickens don’t usually try to escape if they have no valid reason to do it. Most of the time, there is a reason why chickens try to escape. It is an innate behavior of the chickens. This is their defensive tactic against predators.
So, if your chicken loves you and is very comfortable with you, then your chicken will not escape if you let it roam around outside the fence for a few minutes. However, you still have to look at your chicken while it is roaming around. Remember, it is outside the fence.
Final Words
The main reasons why chickens try to escape are because they are not used to the surroundings, scared, lost, or just want to wander. To avoid this from happening, you must put fences or coops. You should also prevent things that scare your chickens or give your chickens some trust issues to avoid your chickens from trying to escape.
