Clipping Wings - Yes or No?

[Gail Laubenthal]

I have 40 young chicks ready to join a small flock of hens and am wondering about clipping their wings before I do it. They have been kept in large brooder areas so they have never been able to free range or mingle with the older girls. Should I clip their wings? If yes, one or two wings? I do have a livestock guardian dog, but she is learning about leaving chickens alone...she is just 6 months old. They are separated by a 5' fence. I did loose 3 older hens this year when they flew over the fence to lay their eggs in a private area they like...unfortunately they flew into the dog kennel.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What does your fence look like? Does it have a rail on top that makes a good place to perch or is it a wire they cannot land on? Chickens like to perch. If the top makes a good perch they can fly up just for fun. Who knows what side they will hop down on? Usually they don't fly over a 5' fence to land on the far side with a wire top. if there is a rail it happens a lot more often.

One time they will fly over is if hey get in a fight and get trapped at the fence while losing. Or a hen is trying to get away from an amorous rooster. They can go vertical trying to get away and might come down on the wrong side. In these circumstances I'm not sure how much clipping a wing will help, they pretty much walk up the fence with wings flapping. They are pretty panicked.

I had a group of three hens that once they learned they could fly out they did daily. But I keep mine in 48" high electric netting and while I've had a lot of cockerels panic and get out, they don't usually learn that they can.

A couple of things I've learned with my electric netting is to avoid sharp corners where they are more likely to get trapped. A 90 degree corner isn't bad but I flatten mine out a bit more. Another thing is to not have a narrow passage. I once set mine up with a narrow corridor to a spot that was a lot more wide open. That didn't last long, a lot of cockerels were getting trapped against the fence in that 15' wide corridor.

If your fence has a top rail clipping wings might be a good idea. I don't do it so I can't tell you if one or both is best. If the top is wire and not a perch it's probably not going to help.

 

[jjchickmom]

Do you have a covered run? If you do I would say no. If you don't I would say yes but make sure you know what you are doing.

We have a 10X10 covered run that is 6 feet tall. Our chickens enjoy flying. We often watch them fly around the run, resting on the top of the coop and flying up to a thick stick that we propped up in the chainlink fencing as a daytime perch. We never knew chickens enjoyed flying so much Our favorite think is when 4-5 of the chickens fly up and hang out on the perch together....well that and watching them look at butterflies.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

If you are worried about them flying out, then clip their wings. One wing on each bird. Do you know the proper way to clip them?

Also, since your chickens are young, they will probably grow the feathers back pretty quickly as they are still going through some of the many juvenile molts. So check them in a few weeks to make sure they don't need to be clipped again assuming you decide to do so.

 

[Chickassan]

I don't clip because they don't fly. They can fly they just don't. I have had to clip in the past only one wing and only the flight feathers. Doing just one makes them barrel roll doing both they compensate and fly anyway. Yours are kids so if you clip you're going to have to do it quite alot.

 

[Gail Laubenthal]

Do you have a covered run? If you do I would say no. If you don't I would say yes but make sure you know what you are doing.

We have a 10X10 covered run that is 6 feet tall. Our chickens enjoy flying. We often watch them fly around the run, resting on the top of the coop and flying up to a thick stick that we propped up in the chainlink fencing as a daytime perch. We never knew chickens enjoyed flying so much Our favorite think is when 4-5 of the chickens fly up and hang out on the perch together....well that and watching them look at butterflies.

They will have a very large coop that opens into a very large (48' x 70') free range fenced area. It would be impossible to cover this with wire or bird netting.

 

[Gail Laubenthal]

If you are worried about them flying out, then clip their wings. One wing on each bird. Do you know the proper way to clip them?

Also, since your chickens are young, they will probably grow the feathers back pretty quickly as they are still going through some of the many juvenile molts. So check them in a few weeks to make sure they don't need to be clipped again assuming you decide to do so.

Thanks. It seems that most people say to do only one wing. It will be interesting to see how this goes, as 40 birds will take time and patiences, not to mention upset their world when I need to catch them.

 

[LilJoe]

I saw no, I NEVER clip wings.

It helps them to get away from predators(if they can fly)

Only my leghorns csn get put of our run by flying.
it doesnt matter anyways since we free range.

 

[Gail Laubenthal]

What does your fence look like? Does it have a rail on top that makes a good place to perch or is it a wire they cannot land on? Chickens like to perch. If the top makes a good perch they can fly up just for fun. Who knows what side they will hop down on? Usually they don't fly over a 5' fence to land on the far side with a wire top. if there is a rail it happens a lot more often.

One time they will fly over is if hey get in a fight and get trapped at the fence while losing. Or a hen is trying to get away from an amorous rooster. They can go vertical trying to get away and might come down on the wrong side. In these circumstances I'm not sure how much clipping a wing will help, they pretty much walk up the fence with wings flapping. They are pretty panicked.

I had a group of three hens that once they learned they could fly out they did daily. But I keep mine in 48" high electric netting and while I've had a lot of cockerels panic and get out, they don't usually learn that they can.

A couple of things I've learned with my electric netting is to avoid sharp corners where they are more likely to get trapped. A 90 degree corner isn't bad but I flatten mine out a bit more. Another thing is to not have a narrow passage. I once set mine up with a narrow corridor to a spot that was a lot more wide open. That didn't last long, a lot of cockerels were getting trapped against the fence in that 15' wide corridor.

If your fence has a top rail clipping wings might be a good idea. I don't do it so I can't tell you if one or both is best. If the top is wire and not a perch it's probably not going to help.

I do not have a top rail on my fence...just wire. I'm mainly worried about these young hens being in a free range area for the first time. I will keep them in their new coop for a few days so they can get oriented, then let them explore the larger area. Thanks for you input.