Most chickens do not fly over fencing that tall. If it's sturdy enough for them to perch on then they may give it a try. Bantams and roosters are more likely to jump that high, but it shouldn't really be a problem.

There is no need to clip their wings unless you do notice them flying over it quite often.

hope this helped. :)

Thanks for the info. It will really help me out to be able to keep my chickens inside this area. I'm going to give it a try this fall.

i have a hen that whants to set but i have never let them. What do i do ? and look for? i would like to try and let her set some eggs . can you help me????????

aprilfool, what kind of chickens are they? Banties can usually fly pretty darned well, while big, heavy breeds tend to stay sensibly on the ground. :) Also, is the area secure from predators? Because chicken wire isn't good enough.

redneckoppy, do you have a rooster with your hens? If so just gather 5-8 eggs and give them to her, and either isolate her or mark your hatching eggs with an X in pencil, so that you can tell the hatching eggs from fresh ones the other hens will climb in there and lay. Remove any fresh eggs daily.

If you need to find hatching eggs elsewhere, try eggbid.com for egg auctions, or ask around at the feed stores in your area, place an ad on craigslist.com, ask a fellow chicken owner, etc. Where are you located?

There is little you need to actually do for the mother and her babies, besides giving them a safe, secure area to be in, and supplying either chick starter or grow mash for the chicks to eat, plus a waterer they cannot drown in.

I've got a chicken info site here, this is the page on baby chicks, it might help:

http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm

Velvet ~:>

Velvet, what if you cannot provide a separate space for mom and baby chicks? Is it still possible to let a mom hatch some babies?