I know this goes against what you are hearing, but only the largest breeds and meat birds will stay behind a six foot fence. Laying hens will soon sail right over it. Some won't but most will, and as soon as they see gay Paris you will never keep them down on the farm. Clipping is done on one wing only. In this way you put the bird off balance and it ends up back on the ground in a hurry. We leave the two largest primaries and then trim off the next 5-6 close to the bottom. This will make for a bird with a natural look because you can still see primaries. Look at each quill to see if it is soft and blood filled. Cut only hard dry quills. I have never seen a bird bleed to death from a broken feather and they break them all the time, but why cut a blood quill and create a mess? Not saying it never happened....just have never seen it.
