clipping wings??

[trunkman]

does anyone have pics of how to clip wings. My chickens are making a mess of my gardens and using the carport as a restroom so I am building them a 2000 square foot enclosure. I'm installing a 4 and a half foot fence and don't want them to fly out so my only option is to clip their wings but don't want to over cut and hurt them.. Any help would be appreciated...

 

[robk0220]

I hope this helps:

You just cut from the axial feather (x) clipping 1 - 10 off at the same length... just make sure you have sharp scissors, they help.

And of course, only clip the feathers on one wing...

 

[rainierlass]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-wingclipping.html

 

[savingdogs]

You only have to do one side.

We only had to do certain ones. We discovered some do not try to fly and others try to fly all the time. So the flyers got their wing clipped.

It went by breed in my group, the orloffs all fly, the smaller RIR fly and none of the larger RIR or any Buff Orps that I have fly. All my muscovy ducks can fly and none of my cayugas. So I have only clipped some of the wings, but you do have to do it again when you see them starting to fly again.

 

[trunkman]

Thanks for the responses all, They really helped!

 

[savingdogs]

Isn't BYC awesome? I love how you can learn what you need to know so quickly. I've only had chickens a little over a year but have learned so much on here!

 

[Alabama ee]

We clipped level with the axiel feathers...and they can still fly enough to get over the fence. Any suggestions?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

You only clipped one side right?


You might have to extend your fence a little taller...

 

[Alabama ee]

Quote:
I only clipped them on the right side. They can't fly as high, but they still can fly over a fence. They will sort of hop and flap their wings and reach the top of the fence, and then
jump down to the other side.

We saw exactly when they got over. We just bribed them back with treats. However, I don't want it to happen again. Our neighbors have dogs...Pit Bulls. They might end up being the treat.

I wish I could extend the the height of the fence, It is a standard chain link on 3 sides . The horse fencing that is behind the house is the same height.

Right now, we just watch them when they are out. If they get on the fence, we make scary noises on the other side and they hop back to the right side. That seems to be somewhat working. They are doing it less.

They are still young birds. They are about 4 months old. As they age, will they get heavier and less likely to be able to fly?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Are they a heavy breed? Mine are 18 week old Wyandottes and they can go over the 5' fence if they are NOT clipped.... once I clipped the wings they couldn't get over it... I know mine will still put on a decent amount of weight as well.



Just FYI for aesthetic purposes- If you don't like the way the wing looks completely clipped off, you can leave the very outer edge 2 or 3 primaries, so when the wing is held against the body you see the last few feathers and you can't even tell the wing was clipped! This doesn't affect the effectiveness as well.