Clipping one wing or both wings?

[bridgetchicken]

My backyard fence is about six feet tall, and if I want to avoid my speckled sussex hens from jumping over do I clip just one wing or both wings?

 

[Tookie]

I believe you only clip one wing to make flying kind of, uneven, if that makes sense.

6 feet is pretty tall, have you had issues before with your hens flying over it?

 

[Debbie292d]

My backyard fence is about six feet tall, and if I want to avoid my speckled sussex hens from jumping over do I clip just one wing or both wings?

I have two B&G Macaw parrots and I learned 20 years ago when I got the first one how to clip their wings and so I'd assume it's the same for chickens. @Tookie is right. I just did it yesterday morning in fact when putting a broody silkie hen in the dog kennel. The day before she got out. Silkies can't fly? Haha. Well, yesterday she couldn't. I clipped one wing.

 

[NatJ]

My backyard fence is about six feet tall, and if I want to avoid my speckled sussex hens from jumping over do I clip just one wing or both wings?

Do they already go over the fence? Sussex are fairly heavy chickens, and a 6 foot fence is pretty tall. They might stay inside without having their wings clipped.

Wing clipping makes a relatively small difference. Some birds will go over a fence even after wing clipping, while some other birds will stay inside even without clipped wings.

do I clip just one wing or both wings?

Some people say one wing (makes the bird off balance) and some people say both wings (less wing area available to lift the bird.)

If your hens do go over the fence, I would suggest you clip one wing per bird at first, and see if that keeps them inside. If that doesn't work, then try clipping the other wing of each bird and see if that works. If that doesn't work either, at least you will know you tried all the options. (If you try two wings first, you can't un-clip a wing to try having just one clipped.)