Cutting a ducklings wing to keep it from flying when it is older !?s

[iajewel]

I agree, I think its cruel too. Its removing a portion of their limb, amputation. When all you have to do is twice a year, clip a few feathers. To choose to pinionate over clipping to me is just lazy and cruel.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
It is required by law on some breeds and BTW it is hard to keep up with clipping (and catching) if you have lots of birds to worry about. The first federal rules to come out on Muscovy ducks required pinioning them because of their tendency to go wild (fural) and breed rapidly. The meat and egg people managed to get that rule reversed, but it may still apply to muscovys kept as pets.
Mute Swans (the big white ones that were brought in from the UK) also had a tendency to go fural and the pinioning rule was applied to them. For appearance sake there is another operation that can be done where part of the tendon that controls the wing tip can be removed on one wing this prevents any serious flying but the wing looks natural where a pinioned wing does not. You usually need a avian vet to do this it is not DIY.

 

[desertdarlene]

Doesn't the law also say you can band or tattoo your muscovy ducks? The reason why I ask is that I think it would be hard to pinion some of the really old muscovies that many people own.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Sorry I haven't read the revised rules. When I have Muscovies they truly are for egg/meat production so once I learned about that exception I lost interest in the very poorly written regulations. They are regulations, laws are written by Congress, regulations are written by agencies and usually refer to a law which they claim gives them authority. this reg refers to the migatory bird act but muscovy don't migrate. Go figure!

 

[kuecker1]

Quote:
Pinioning is far from lazy. It is a way to manage your flock. When a bird is pinion at a day old there is nothing cruel about it. I have around 150 ducks and geese around here and to chase them around and catch them twice a year puts much more stress on them than pinioning them at a day old and never have to worry about it again.

As far as the muscovies go I would be willing to bet that in the future many states will make laws requiring pinion to keep them from moving to the wild like they have started to do in the south.

 

[Suzie]

I normally clip my Muscovy's wings after they moult - having said that I only have five of them so it is fairly easy to manage.... having said that..... I didn't clip the wings of one of my girls and she flew into the goose compound and was relentlessly attacked by the Toulouse and Embden's - I didn't think she would survive but she is fine now.... we do need to be aware that when they have new feathers that WE are responsible for their welfare, they easily fly away, sometimes never to come home BUT then the positive side is that they can very often avoid predators... it is one of those dilemmas that will probably never have a satisfactory answer for all but it is up to us as individuals to do whatever we feel is necessary for our own flock.

Suzie

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Pinioning is far from lazy. It is a way to manage your flock. When a bird is pinion at a day old there is nothing cruel about it. I have around 150 ducks and geese around here and to chase them around and catch them twice a year puts much more stress on them than pinioning them at a day old and never have to worry about it again.

As far as the muscovies go I would be willing to bet that in the future many states will make laws requiring pinion to keep them from moving to the wild like they have started to do in the south.

There is a third choice, cutting a short bit of tendon that controlls that wing tip. Regulatory won't like it because it can't be quickly sight verified like pinioning can be.