All About Wing Clipping

[Soon2BChixMom]

when you clip one wing it will mess up there flying skills,so they just give up when you clip 2 they can fly about 60 cm high.They should come out from under the deck and should go to the coop when its dark.

I haven't clipped my chickens wings, but clipped one wing on each of my muscovies. Although they aren't chickens, they fly just fine and high enough. One was bout 5 ft off the ground last night and went about 60 ft across the yard.
I cut one only so they would still fly if needed, but not fly away as muscovies can do. Maybe it has to do with how severe you cut the one wing? My wing trimming was the least needed to prevent distance flights.
I imagine a chicken can jump 1 ft even if their flight feathers were severely cut. That's just jumping, no flying needed.
However, I've never seen any of my chickens fly though and none of them have their wings clipped.

 

[centrarchid]

I currently do not have chickens with clipped wings and seldom do it. That said, I have done wing clipping and consider some situations are good for the approach to be used. As a kid I did some experimentation with about 70 hens in a hen-house which led me to think the clipping on one side only is bunk / baloney / nonsense. Getting tired of reading all the unfounded assertions that were followed with argumentative fervor that trimming only one wing (unilateral) degraded flight more than bilateral trimming, I decided to conduct an informal experiment linked below. Read link for details. Citizen science based, no bunk!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...n-containment-with-perimeter-fencing.1261276/

Birds so treated in that experiment were juvenile where those not used for consumption a short time later had flight fully restored about 60 days later when feathers were replaced. If trimming still approach to be followed, age and season needs to be taken into account as certain times of year the effects are of shorter duration than others. As far as I can tell, effects of trimming are lost once new feathers come back.

 

[Teahwalker323]

You're so lucky your's don't fly mine try to fly over my fence, I'm not really sure why

 

[centrarchid]

You're so lucky your's don't fly mine try to fly over my fence, I'm not really sure why

Mine fly a lot with some very well. In a pinch most can fly a 120 yards from barn to house in one flight to land on roof. Fences are not effective with mine.

 

[Summerbirds]

You're so lucky your's don't fly mine try to fly over my fence, I'm not really sure why

how tall is your fence?

 

[Teahwalker323]

how tall is your fence?

I have a 6ft one they tried jumping and they stood on the top till i grabbed them and a 3ft they dont jump

 

[RWise]

I never clip more than one wing and that one only 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, no more is ever needed. And this would be for flight as in getting airborne 20 or more feet in the air, I have 2 clipped for this reason now.
Can they fly with a wing clipped, yes they can but most often will not as it puts them off balance. They can still escape a predator.
Can they still jump, yes they can I have seen a bird with both wings severely clipped (not by me) she could still jump 8 feet up.
And it will do nothing for an escape artist.
I find my fish dip net more effective.
Good luck!

Edit a wire along the top of the fence may work well,,,, so they dont have anything to land on.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Like I said, my chickens do not fly even when let out of their run. Maybe it is the breed? I only have 3 isa browns and a brahma. The brahma when given a chance doesn't even come out of the run. I also recently added a blue Wyandotte cockerel. He hasn't been let out of the run yet, maybe he will need his wings clipped if he is a flier.
The muscovies are in a run most of the day and let out in the yard while I am out working. I have no fence for them to jump or fly over once in the yard so I don't mind if they fly a bit, I just don't want them flying away so for me the unilateral clip works. And it is less holding and wrangling of muscovies that I have to do.

 

[centrarchid]

I never clip more than one wing and that one only 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, no more is ever needed. And this would be for flight as in getting airborne 20 or more feet in the air, I have 2 clipped for this reason now.
Can they fly with a wing clipped, yes they can but most often will not as it puts them off balance. They can still escape a predator.
Can they still jump, yes they can I have seen a bird with both wings severely clipped (not by me) she could still jump 8 feet up.
And it will do nothing for an escape artist.
I find my fish dip net more effective.
Good luck!

Edit a wire along the top of the fence may work well,,,, so they dont have anything to land on.

This is an example of fervor.

 

[Summerbirds]

Like I said, my chickens do not fly even when let out of their run. Maybe it is the breed? I only have 3 isa browns and a brahma. The brahma when given a chance doesn't even come out of the run. I also recently added a blue Wyandotte cockerel. He hasn't been let out of the run yet, maybe he will need his wings clipped if he is a flier.
The muscovies are in a run most of the day and let out in the yard while I am out working. I have no fence for them to jump or fly over once in the yard so I don't mind if they fly a bit, I just don't want them flying away so for me the unilateral clip works. And it is less holding and wrangling of muscovies that I have to do.

I have herd small chicken breeds, are really good at flying.