15 week (3.5 month) old Silver Duckwing OEGB keeps escaping! I need to clip her wings. Is she old e

[chem]

Hello everyone

I have been having an issue with my smallest chicken as of late. She is a Silver Duckwing OEGB that is 15 weeks old (3.5 months). I have read that this breed is known to be very flighty. Wow were they not kidding! She is my little baby and she still fits in the palm of my hand. I think she is smaller than most of her breed, kind of like a runt lol
Anyways, I live in an area where I am surrounded by neighbors. I do have fences but that is not enough (apparently she can fly over anything). I am very nervous since my neighbor behind me has dogs that will not hesitate to eat her if she lands over there. This morning while cleaning the coops I heard her screaming for me. It actually sounds like a high pitched honking noise, really cute. As a good mother that I am I go running for her. I found she had flew over into my neighbors yard to the side of me. This neighbor is fine with no dogs. I jumped the fence and rescued her. Not even a half hour later she did it again! Now here is the thing. My chickens have full run of the backyard. They have a run with a built in coop as well. I leave that open during the day for them to come and go. At night everyone gets locked in, safe from predators. My chickens love to have free range of the back yard so I dont want to confine them to the run/coop. I was reading up on wing clipping and have decided that would be the best solution for my baby OEGB's flying problem. It looks simple enough so I am not confused on the clipping part. What I am confused about is if she is old enough for me to do this? I have heard people say that if they are not a certain age than I could clip a wing that isnt ready causing it to bleed horribly and cause pain to my chicken. Is my baby old enough for me to do this? How can I be sure she will be alright before I clip them? This chicken is my BABY. She loves me and trusts me. Out of all my chickens she is the smallest but the sweetest. She will come to me and lay on my lap whenever she sees me. I do not want to break this bond by hurting her. I am so very paranoid! Can anyone please help me with this issue? I can always take pics if need be. Any info would be greatly appreiciated. Thank you!

 

[ChicKat]

It is a tough one..... but imagine if your chicken had flown over the fence with the neighbors dogs and you hadn't been there.

I checked in Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens and Gail Damerow mentions brailing as wrapping one wing with a soft cord so that the wing cannot be fully opened. I googled and found this from New South Wales.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/poultry/species/pheasant-raising/brooding

Brailing

Brailing is another method of flight control. Attaching brail or tape to one wing prevents flying. To give both wings some exercise, change the brail or tape to the other wing every 4 months.

Attaching brail or tape to wings to
prevent pheasants from flying​

A brail is a thin, pliable leather strap (see D in diagram at right) cut with a small T-shaped strap (C and B) at one end. The smaller strap is fastened around the pheasant’s ‘forearm’ with a paper fastener (A). The longer section of the strap (D) is then passed beneath the wing and pushed up between the outermost flight feathers, before being bent back and secured with the paper fastener (A). The ends of the paper fastener should be curved back with a pair of pliers so that they can be bent under the fastener head. Some limited movement should be allowed to the brailed wing. With breeders it is advisable to change the brail to the other wing about every 4 months, to give both wings some exercise.
Taping

Taping wings can be used as an alternative to brailing. Two lengths of 6 mm linen tape should be laid side by side and knotted to divide the double tape into one-third and two-thirds of its length. Although the long end of the tape is double instead of single, the same technique should be used for securing the wing, as in brailing. Use a suitable knot to locate the tape on the pheasant’s elbow. Tape is cheaper than leather brails. However, the life of tapes will be shorter than brails.

You can probably find more---but I would say do something before it is too late!

 

[warmwater]

Hello, we have a girl that would fly out of the run....there I put deer cloth over it. In the evenings (after work) I let my girls out...they never leave the yard.

My DH trimmed her wings....u can feel where the feathers come out of the wing bone, you don't need to get close to it at all....just trim the feathers straight across at the widest part of the wing span. Trim a little at a time and watch her, if she flies trim more. I would do both wings on your girl. I don't think age matters....if she can fly....her wings can be trimmed.

Hope this helps