Clipping Bernadette's wings

[red3rob]

I'm looking for advice from folks with experience clipping wings. I've got two Red Stars who can easily fly over a four foot fence. One chooses not to, most of the time. But the other one, Bernadette, escapes many times each day.

I've read about clipping one wing so that they're off-balance and unable to fly. But I don't want to completely take away their ability to fly. (That may be how they escaped a recent hawk attack, while one of the poor-flying Autralorps wasn't so lucky.) They need to get to their roosts.

I'd like to reduce their ability to fly, so they can't fly so high. But I still want them to be able to fly a few feet to roosts, etc. What if I clip both wings, but clip fewer feathers?

 

[ChxLadyCass]

I'm looking for advice from folks with experience clipping wings. I've got two Red Stars who can easily fly over a four foot fence. One chooses not to, most of the time. But the other one, Bernadette, escapes many times each day.

I've read about clipping one wing so that they're off-balance and unable to fly. But I don't want to completely take away their ability to fly. (That may be how they escaped a recent hawk attack, while one of the poor-flying Autralorps wasn't so lucky.) They need to get to their roosts.

I'd like to reduce their ability to fly, so they can't fly so high. But I still want them to be able to fly a few feet to roosts, etc. What if I clip both wings, but clip fewer feathers?

This is a really interesting question! I have clipped all of my hens and rooster's wings, except for our flying Australorp who disappeared over the weekend. I clipped both wings and all of those secondary feathers. They really struggled, but have gotten better at being able to fly up to their roosts if necessary. I think it would be worth trying to just clip the very edges of those secondary feathers on both wings. If they are young, I believe I read that they will grow back, so it would be worth the experiment! Following to see what others may say!