people with house chickens

[yoyobantam]

Okay, so I need some opinions..
my three little chickens are Seramas. My smallest girl, Ginger, is the size of a coturnix quail.
as you may know, Seramas are fairly good flyers. I would like to let them have free playtime in my backyard. But if someone were to flutter over my fence they would be toast. Three of my neighbors have dogs!!!
so, I was thinking I could trim their wings so they could have backyard freedom... Wondering if anyone else has ever trimmed their chickens wings. They wouldn't be able to flutter up to their sleep perch if I did.. But I think the backyard is a bigger bonus, and I could put steps to their sleep perch...
what do ya'll think??

 

[Crickett]

If you clip the flight feathers, do it on one wing only. It won't hurt the bird at all, but you will have to do it each time they moult. Also they should still be able to get to the perch, provided it isn't to high. Steps or a ladder even will be helpful.

 

[PhantomChikkinz]

Enzo LOVES banana pudding! And pasta, and bread, and rice, and baked potatoes, and apples, and strawberries..

Yeah, she'll eat pretty much anything.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Enzo LOVES banana pudding! And pasta, and bread, and rice, and baked potatoes, and apples, and strawberries..

Yeah, she'll eat pretty much anything.

Sunni is the same way. The only thing she won't eat is banana's.

 

[PBGGG]

Hoodie my aunt made for me! Whoo!

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Hoodie my aunt made for me! Whoo!

So cute!!

 

[PhantomChikkinz]

Hoodie my aunt made for me! Whoo!

That is awesome!

 

[Didymus]

I have trimmed my girls wings ( just one) several times. We have an 8 foot fence, but they still could fly. A friend of mine showed me how to do it. It doesn't seem to make them of balance at all. We have a ramp to their laying {place) and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. They are all healthy.

However, despite the below the freezing temps, and no extra lighting, they laid eggs eggs all winter. Now, that is sort of springtime temps, they are not laying as well. Do they not lay as well during the "molting" stage, and how do I know. There does not seem to be a lot of feathers around, but Sweetie Pie seem to be a little bare a little bare on her belly. Any suggestions?

 

[subhanalah]

I have trimmed my girls wings ( just one) several times.  We have an 8 foot fence, but they still could fly.  A friend of mine showed me how to do it.  It doesn't seem to make them of balance at all.  We have a ramp to their laying {place) and it doesn't seem to bother them at all.  They are all healthy.

However, despite the below the freezing temps, and no extra lighting, they laid eggs eggs all winter.  Now, that is sort of springtime temps, they are not laying as well.  Do they not lay as well during  the "molting" stage, and how do I know.  There does not seem to be a lot of feathers around, but Sweetie Pie seem to be a little bare  a little bare on her belly.   Any suggestions?

Is sweetie pie sitting on a nest a lot? She could be broody, and the feathers missing are her broody patch. If she's not broody, check her for lice and mites. Does she scratch a lot? Mites are very difficult to see with the name eye, so you would likely have to go based off other symptoms.

 

[MaddiesMum]

Sunni has a new favorite.

A few weeks ago I started spending a few hours each night watching movies or tv. Sunni started sitting on my lap while I was watching it, and found that she really enjoyed it. A few times she even fell asleep standing there.

Now she refuses to go to bed at night until I watch tv with her. I tried putting her to bed early the other night, and I couldn't believe the temper tantrum she threw. She kept flapping her wings and making all kinds of noises until I took her out and watched tv with her. Then she went to bed like a good girl. She is such a creature of habbit. There is no way I'll ever break her of this one.

Tomorrow we are leaving on a weekend getaway, and Sunni is coming with us. I'm going to try and sneak her into the hotel room.

Sunni and I are pretty much attached at the hip. If she is away from me for more than a few hours, she gets really distraught. So I couldn't imagine leaving her at home with a babysitter for three days.



I have a question for all of you house chicken owners. What are your girl's and boy's favorite treats? Sunni's are cheerios, animal crackers, and yogurt. I actually have a container of animal crackers stashed in the cupboard just for Sunni. She knows they're there too. Every time I walk up to the cupboard she'll go racing through the house and stand on my feet until I give her some. Sunni is so crazy about treats that she does tricks for them. She'll jump about 6-8 inches in the air to grab treats out of my hand. It's the funniest thing! She'll also chase after them if I throw them across the room, and then she'll come running back for more. It's the closet she'll probably ever get to playing fetch. She comes back, but I don't ever get the treat back from her.

That's actually hilarious! Maddie and I used to watch TV/movies together all the time, it's quite a nice bonding experience

Let us know how it goes with the hotel, I'm sure sooner or later most of us may want to travel with our birdies at some point.. I definitely understand being inseparable with them

Also, I'd love to see more pics of Sunni soon, it's been a while since we've seen her!