clipping wings

[hdowden]

i have two 7.5 week old mallards that are starting to glide around the yard and i want to clip their wings so they cant fly away. they will be shown at the local fair in oct. how often can i clip the wings, as for shows (as most of you know ;-) ) they should not me clipped and that can DQ them here...i keep bpuncing back and fourth on weather its 2 males, 2 females, or a pair lol. they free range during the day and are penned at night.

 

[fifenashia]

Let me say that I had a friend come over last summer and clip my Mallards wings (he had years of experience with birds and farm animals). I went to go down yesterday and it is still visible where he clipped them, obviously so. I had been planning on clipping them again but it looks as if I dont need to. I dont know if he did something wrong or what but it has been months and if I took her to a show the judges would know right away that she had been clipped.

Just a thought. Not sure whether its a pro or con in your book but something to chew on regardless.

 

[PetesMom]

Are you sure it can get them DQd? In our shows they can be clipped as it really doesn't do anything to their conformation.

And, fifenashia.....the flight feathers will not grow back until they go through a molt where they get all new feathers. My 3 mallards are clipped.

 

[hdowden]

yes im sure. someone clipped one of the pekins wings last year and it was dq by the judges (and no we did not do this, that was done after we had left). how many more molts should 8 week olds go through?

 

[PetesMom]

I think they go through 1 or 2 molts a year

 

[fifenashia]

Thanks Pete's mom! I didn't know that

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