Alternative to Clipping Wings?

[triplepurpose]

Once I had a rooster who likes to roost high on trees, I tied his outer wing feathers with cable ties enforced with super glue, after a week or two I removed them with wire cutter and his feathers were fine.

?!

 

[triplepurpose]

I understand it used to be common to use a knife to strip the sides from the larger quill feathers to add to down to fill out pillows and such, which suggests a more efficient technique than meticulously shaping feathers with scissors. Perhaps a similar method was adopted by Piper to quickly strip flight feathers?

When i get the chance I will try some experients on dropped feathers with sharp knives and see if this sheds any light on reconstructing the technique.

 

[Sutremaine]

You don't need a knife, the feather filament thingies will peel like a banana skin if you start from the distal end of the feather.

The cable tie idea is interesting. I suppose it's done to break the habit?

 

[triplepurpose]

Forgive my igoramce: which would be the distal end?

 

[Sutremaine]

Forgive my igoramce: which would be the distal end?

The far end, starting from the point of attachment. The thin-shafted end of the feather.

 

[aart]

Forgive my igoramce: which would be the distal end?

I didn't know either, had to google it.

The far end, starting from the point of attachment. The thin-shafted end of the feather.

....the point farthest away from the body.

 

[Fairview01]

The only guarantee clipping wings will give is that they won't be able to fly as well or as long or as high as a chicken that is not clipped. The only way to keep chickens in a run is to put a cover over it.

I have a white Plymouth rock. I have clipped her wings not once but twice this year. The second time I quicked more than one quill I was getting it that short. I found her outside the run yet again last week. She can not generate any lift. When she comes out of the coop in the morning it's just a straight down thud off the ramp. But the little turd learned how to climb near vertical welded wire using her wings as an assist.

She's gonna get her one way ticket punched to freezer camp this weekend before any other learns this trick.

 

[triplepurpose]

The only guarantee clipping wings will give is that they won't be able to fly as well or as long or as high as a chicken that is not clipped. The only way to keep chickens in a run is to put a cover over it.

You have a point. Clipping wings takes care of 99% but theres always that one in a hundred. Yet putting a cover only works for stationary small runs, and sometimes the expense or inconvenience isn't justified just for that 1 percent even then--it can require twice as much fencing to make it high enough for human access and then you still need to buy and install the roof or top netting.

However, I do have one very good tip to add to this topic though. I learned a very cool solution from the 1940s book Poultry and Rabbits on Scraps that I havent heard of elsewhere but is ingenious.

Erect a "tripwire": a thin wire or sturdy string of some sort about 6 inches above the top of the fence netting (you will need posts that extend beyond the top of netting, or zip-tie on some sticks as extensions). If erected properly and solidly and the "wire" is taught, this makes it nearly physically impossible to perch on the top (which is how chickens typically get over), and makes it difficult or impossible for those determined "climbers", because it obstructs their flapping wings as they try to clear the top.

Considering its a relatively easy feature to add on, and makes a much more secure fence, it can be well worth the effort. I had a fence section where multiple hens kept getting over multiple times a day, they were learning from each other and it was quite annoying; then i read about this method and perhaps twenty minutes of light work to erect a tripwire with some spare clothesline (and just on the side where they were getting over!) fixed the problem completely and permanently!

 

[Fairview01]

You're spot on about that 1%. I have 13 marans that have no interest in flying. I have 3 more plymouths that have no interest in flying. On occasion I will find one outside of the run. After clipping its wings I put a zip tie on the leg so I can identify repeat offenders. This is the only one determined to not follow the rules. It will be simpler to give her a one way ticket to freezer camp than put up a wire. She is not that important to the flock or to me.

 

[triplepurpose]

I had one called "houdini" who once went to freezer camp--but then I discovered the tripwire trick!