BYC's wing clipping shows much less clipping than some places

[TheMainException]

I'm confused about what people think is best. On BYC's wing clipping page, only the first 10 flight feathers are clipped. This particular site: http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/clipping-chicken-wings.html has the whole wing's flight feathers being clipped. It looks odd and a tad extreme to me, but seems like a much better way to inhibit flight. Has anyone done it this way? Do you think it would be okay for chickens in a small run? I'd rather have their run open at the top than need to cover it so they can't keep escaping.

 

[BirdBrain]

It really depends on a number of things. First of all, how high is your fence? When I clipped wings the first time, I didn't understand how and carefully clipped both wings. I came back thirty minutes later and found birds everywhere. I felt real smart when I learned I should have clipped only one wing so they would be imbalanced and unable to fly. If you must clip their wings to keep them in, try the less severe of the two methods. You can always cut some more off, but it is real hard the other way around.

Most people cover their runs, not to keep the chickens in, but instead to keep hawks and owls out.

 

[bantyhen'sfriend]

We've had to clip all of the feathers on one wing for the really strong fliers, such as Hamburgs, Leghorns, etc. They could still fly a bit, too.

 

[TheMainException]

Yea, I finally just covered the run. It'll keep our neighborhood Cooper's hawks out, make it harder for foxes and raccoons to get it and keep those nimble birds inside. I really don't want to clip their wings at all because if they do get out and evade me until night, I want them as safe as possible and able to escape from attackers, but I really just don't want them to get out at all so I don't have to worry about that.