how high can chickens fly

Detailed Explanation of How High Can Chickens Fly – Chickens are indeed one of the most popular farm animals because they can be used from eggs to meat. The care is also not difficult, you just need to give them a place to live and provide enough food.

But it turns out there are cases of chickens that often fly towards the fence and run away. This is certainly a problem, especially if the fence of the chicken coop or house is made short, making it easier for the chickens to escape.

Chickens can’t fly, but they can jump quite high and are seen flying because chickens also flap their wings. But of course different from birds that actually fly, chickens seem to just jump and try to defend themselves in the air to avoid or reach something.

How high chicken can fly is most likely with the recent development of chicken size. For example, chickens now have a tendency to be smaller in size, especially for the wings and body weight. But of course, if the chickens are in danger, they don’t hesitate to jump and fly.

The Current Physique of Chickens and the Causes of Flying Chickens

how high can chickens fly with clipped wings

When viewed from the ability to fly, generally chickens are only able to fly as high as 10 feet and jump to fly as far as five or six feet. The chicken that was judged to have flown was recorded in history, this chicken flew for 13 seconds and landed with achievement of 3 thousand feet.

Maybe it’s not much, but for the size of a bird that can’t fly, this is something worth considering. Especially for those who raise chickens in the back or side of the house. Providing a high fence can be an option if you don’t want the chickens to jump into the neighbor’s house.

Read Also : How Many Nesting Boxes Per Chicken? Everything To Know!

How to prevent chickens from flying or jumping high?

Doing nothing, this is for those of you who are desperate to face a pretty stubborn chicken. Chickens of this breed are usually not caged properly, often jumping onto branches, or jumping over fences. How high chicken can fly can not be overcome other than raising the fence so that the chickens do not jump.

Feed it always, this is for those of you who want chickens to gain weight. With a chicken gaining weight, it cannot jump to and fro more easily, because its wings are unable to support its body weight when jumping or flying.

When feeding, you can schedule it so that they eat regularly, it can also provide a special container for feeding. Make sure the special container is always available, so it does not make it difficult for them to find food.

chickens how high can they fly

Clipping the wings, applies if you have built a high fence, but the chickens are still often jumping or flying. Cutting the wings does not mean cutting the entire wing, but only trimming a small part of the wing, thus making the chicken lose the ability to fly short distances.

Although how high chicken can fly is common, you must know that preventing chickens from flying is also not a good thing. Because flying short or long distances is important for chickens to avoid natural predators or things that make chickens threatened.

Feared by the loss of this ability, the chicken will find it difficult to avoid the dangers that may befall him. So make sure you stay wise in preventing the chicken from flying forward.

Why Chickens Can’t Fly

You may sometimes wonder why chickens can’t fly, this is natural because chickens themselves are still one species with birds. There are several reasons why chickens cannot fly, including:

Chickens Have a Big Body

Compared to birds, chickens have a larger body. this is why how high a chicken can fly still cannot exceed the flight made by birds. The muscles possessed by chickens are not made to fly, the size of the chicken’s body with its wings is also not balanced.

This is certainly different from birds, which are of the same species like them, birds have broad wings with strong feathers. Its body size is smaller and lighter, so it is safe for stable flight. Simply by flipping the wings, birds can fly easily without any problems.

Chickens Can’t Flap Their Wings Fast

how high can bantam chickens fly

There is another reason that also makes chickens unable to fly, namely chickens cannot flap their wings as quickly as birds. This will certainly hinder the flying process to be carried out.

There are birds that have small wings and large bodies, namely hummingbirds that are able to flap their wings quickly. This bird is able to fly because its wings beat very quickly and are able to pull and carry its body weight. This is different from the chicken that can’t flap the affection it has.

Tips for Caring for Chickens Correctly

For those of you who are raising chickens and facing problems related to how high chickens can fly, the following tips might help you, including:

  • Always clean the chicken coop, with a dirty cage, the possibility of bacteria and viruses entering the chicken’s body is quite high.
  • Later the eggs or meat consumed are not healthy for the body.
  • Make fences and chicken coops neat, so they can take shelter in the heat and shelter in the rain. Sometimes, the hen also has no difficulty in laying eggs and incubating them.
  • Provide nutritious feed, so that all chickens can enjoy nutrients that are beneficial to the body. For chicks, do not separate from the mother if it is not necessary.
  • Take care of the chicken population that you have, especially if your intention is not to create a large number of farms. Too many chickens can cause disease.

That’s the information about how high chickens can fly, hopefully, it can help you, especially those who have problems with caring for chickens at home. If you see a sick chicken, it’s a good idea to immediately consult a veterinarian to prevent other chickens from being infected and causing mass death.


Hello! I'm Darren Harlan. I’m a gardener who writes, photographs, and speaks about gardening. Slightly irreverent. Always enthusiastic. I’ve lived in the Hudson Valley since I was a young child, except for a brief stint as a writter

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