Cutting FLIGHT feathers... help

[fhlstables]

Okay I have had a neighbor come help me cut feathers. We left the first four feathers and the last four feathers and cut out the feathers in the middle. This seems to have worked for all but 3 of them. They are still flying.

I read online that you were to cut ALL feather and not leave any. But will they bleed then?

Any advice?

 

[CarriBrown]

Cut only one wing, and that will solve your problem. Too late for that now, but their wing feathers grow back fairly quickly.

Edited to add: No, you don't need to cut all their feathers, just the flight feathers. If you leave a couple of feathers intact, it's hard to even see they have their wings clipped.

 

[silkiechicken]

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

Just don't cut into pin feathers and you will be fine.

Sounds like you had the wings cut similar to what you would do for a caged bird to preserve the "look" of a uncut bird. This can be potentially dangerous for caged birds, (so I would also think chicken) if they get the outside most 4 feathers caught on something.

If you can convince them being in the run is better than being out of it, they may be more inclined to stay inside. However, this is often hard to do and you can only give them so many treats. Beware of predators who may see them as an easy meal if they really can't get away from them.

 

[fhlstables]

Thanks.

 

[Dan M]

Our chickens are so hyper and they always fly over the fence so we might cut the flight feathers so they don't lay eggs in the yard, or risk being hurt because they just flip out!

 

[Eggcessive]

Our chickens are so hyper and they always fly over the fence so we might cut the flight feathers so they don't lay eggs in the yard, or risk being hurt because they just flip out!

I wouldn't bother. They will still go over a 4 foot fence anywhere they want to go. I have trimmed one wing several years ago on my large flock, and it was a waste of time. They tend to jump the fence later when they get heavier. One thing that I found that works is to use fencing that is flimsy that they can't jump up to (electric fence netting without the power turned on.) Chain link or wood fencing or anything they can perch on, they will go over if they desire.