Clipping Wings

[Ady Road Chicks]

Wow, I was just going to post my question for clipping wings....to clip or not to clip...that is my question. For those of you who do clip your chickens' wings, why? For those who don't , why? I am trying to decide if I should or not so I am looking for the pros and cons of it. Thanks in advance.

 

[helloroe]

I do one side and it has worked with my bunch. I do it because they were going over the 5' fence to the neighbors. They were also roosting on top of the coop 9' up. I got tired of climbing the ladder to get them inside. Then I did find the water hose works. Never hit them with the water, just chased it behind them and they come down to get away from it.

 

[DukesAngel]

I clipped both wings on all my birds but two. I just picked the 5 longest feathers on each side and that was that. They still have some flight but not enough lift to go over my fences, which is all I wanted.

 

[Alabama ee]

Quote:
We clipped ours. We have a coop and a run for ours. During the day when we are home, we let them out to free range. It wasn't long before they started to flap over the 5 foot fence. We didn't want them to bother the neighbors. Also, one neighbor has pitts. We didn't want them to get hurt.

I clipped one side at first. They could still get over the fence. A few days later, I cut a little further and did the other side.

The only bad side I can think of,is don't cut too much it could make them bleed. It is very serious if they start bleeding. The blood does not clot on a feather shaft the way it does on the skin. If that happens, you are supposed to pull the feather out. If you are careful, it should not be a problem. We did not have it happen to any that we clipped.

Here is a "how to" I found on the net.

http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/clipping-chicken-wings.html

 

[NarleevilleClucks]

Wing clipping saved my entire flock! You really can't screw it up and they are immediately unable to jump, fly or flutter over anything...fantastic!