clipping wings

[archil]

I've been told that its good to wait until my ducks are at least 15 weeks old before I clip their wings.
Is it likely that they'll try to fly during this time?
Will the fly away from home and not come back, like parrots do?
Will they just fly for a little bit in the yard?
I don't really have an enclosure big enough to keep them for 15 weeks
muscovys by the way

 

[petjem]

You should wait until blood is drew back from their growing flight feathers or else you might cause them to bleed. If this ever happens, you should grab that bleeding feather and pull it right out to stop the bleeding. My muscovy hen was already flying pretty well by the age of 15 weeks and thats about when I trimmed her flight feathers. They normaly do come back when they take off and fly but you never know with birds if something scares/chases them and they get lost or caught by a predator. The wisest thing to do is to trim their flight feathers IMO.

This is what the other memebers in here, told me about it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/716768/trimming-flight-feathers-in-muscovies

 

[archil]

thanks,
i had a look but it doesn't really help with the problem of having them able to fly, possibly before I can clip them.
I live in a sub urban area and i really don't need ducks flying around to our neighbours places.
Especially since a lot of people around here consider ducks pests and try to scare them away by throwing things or 'accidentally' run them over.
should i keep them in a temporary enclosure until i can clip the wings, or are they not likely to fly away.
I can't be at home the whole day, so i cant supervise them and stop them from flying away during the day.
also our property is surrounded by trees and I feel like it may be hard for a duck to identify the place from the outside if she does fly away.

 

[Kevin565]

Young ducks are notorious for getting lost when trying out their wings. You will need to keep them in a enclosure. When you said "You don't have a enclosure big enough to hold them" are you talking long term? They are still easy pickings for predators especially when their wings are clipped.

 

[jdywntr]

Young ducks are notorious for getting lost when trying out their wings. You will need to keep them in a enclosure. When you said "You don't have a enclosure big enough to hold them" are you talking long term? They are still easy pickings for predators especially when their wings are clipped.

I agree with this. They need a safe area, even during the day.

Before moving, my muscovy was still able to get over a 6' privacy fence even before she attempted to fly. I found her at my front door, tried to catch her but she got back over on her own. I clipped their wings after that. If the feathers look like they are completely grown in, you can probably go ahead and clip them. Only clip one.

 

[archil]

there are no predators where we live, just a couple of small cats.
How big would the enclosure need to be to keep thm relatively comfortable untill i can clip thier feathers at 15 weeks?