ethics of wing clipping

[PacificChorusFrog]

I am posting to ask about the ethics of clipping my hens' wings.

I have 4 hens. They are currently 5 months old. Their coop is located within the goat pasture (2 goats) and their run is fenced within the goat pasture. I can open a chicken-sized gate between the chicken run and goat pasture and the hens very much prefer to hang out during the day at the goat barn and in the goat pasture. The four hens are all friendly and happy and laying eggs.

Within the last week, the Golden Comet and the ISO Brown have been flying over the pasture fence and roaming around. I can easily pick them up and carry them back to the pasture. They often come towards me, actually. If I'm working in the orchard, they come down there. If I'm up by the house, that's where they come. Very cute. But a little annoying.

My preference is that the chickens can live their most natural life, and if I clip the wings they lose the joy of flying. Of course, I understand that they could also lose their life if they get predated upon (or unlikely hit by car where I live, or whatever). I'm not willing to keep them in their run all the time. I like having them in the goat pasture by day, and it being a quarter acre, I can't put a cover over the pasture.

Do hens get depressed if they are unable to fly? Or other negative effects?

Yes, I searched the previous posts, but my answer is not posted.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I don’t believe they’re capable of self-reflection. I don’t think they’ll be depressed if they can’t fly. I don’t think they get depressed period. They can get sick and not feel good. I don’t think they ponder their sad state and yearn for something else.

Its purely a matter of what’s practical. I don’t wing clip. I don’t find it to be useful. They can usually still beat their wings enough to hop over barriers while not being able to properly fly up to tree roost at night or get away from predators. Its not a matter of ethics. Just usefulness or the lack thereof.

 

[FrostRanger]

I agree with Florida Bulldog and will also add that as an animal owner it's our responsibility to keep our animals contained and wing clipping is a way to do that. Doesn't hurt them a bit and chickens don't fly much anyways so they're really not missing much. Wing clipping is simply a means to fulfilling your ethical obligation to keeping your animals contained where they're supposed to be

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I am posting to ask about the ethics of clipping my hens' wings.

I have 4 hens. They are currently 5 months old. Their coop is located within the goat pasture (2 goats) and their run is fenced within the goat pasture. I can open a chicken-sized gate between the chicken run and goat pasture and the hens very much prefer to hang out during the day at the goat barn and in the goat pasture. The four hens are all friendly and happy and laying eggs.

Within the last week, the Golden Comet and the ISO Brown have been flying over the pasture fence and roaming around. I can easily pick them up and carry them back to the pasture. They often come towards me, actually. If I'm working in the orchard, they come down there. If I'm up by the house, that's where they come. Very cute. But a little annoying.

My preference is that the chickens can live their most natural life, and if I clip the wings they lose the joy of flying. Of course, I understand that they could also lose their life if they get predated upon (or unlikely hit by car where I live, or whatever). I'm not willing to keep them in their run all the time. I like having them in the goat pasture by day, and it being a quarter acre, I can't put a cover over the pasture.

Do hens get depressed if they are unable to fly? Or other negative effects?

Yes, I searched the previous posts, but my answer is not posted.

some breeds can fly even with clipped wings.
I actually have a hen with a wing deformity, her wings are half size and she can't fly. this does not affect her quality of life, although admittedly with her roosting under the tree where most of my birds fly up to sleep, I worry that if the raccoons ever find us again she'll be headless by sunrise. that being said, she acts like a normal Plymouth, and is best friends with my Brahma.

 

[BantyChooks]

As chickens are primarily ground birds and do not use their wings for sustained flight like a caged bird such as a parrot, it is my opinion that it is completely ethical. I don’t clip wings as I found it to be minimally helpful - I covered my run instead. However, if it was effective for my run setup, I would do it again.

It doesn’t fundamentally change their flight behaviours either, it simply reduces some lift. Chickens generally do not sustain flight and use their wings mostly for short bursts of flight and then fall down. Because of this, clipping their wings just makes them fall faster, whereas for a parrot, it fundamentally changes their flight pattern from sustained flight to short bursts.

 

[Loving my girls]

I always clip one of the wings of my baby girls when they are let out into the big world. It stops them flying over the fence and putting themselves at risk.
Tilly was an absolute nightmare and was convinced she was a pigeon but we soon convin Her she was an emu.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My preference is that the chickens can live their most natural life,

A chicken's most natural life is feral. They totally free range, sleep in trees, and find all of their own food. They hatch and raise a lot of chicks because they are prey animals, most are eaten before they are able to reproduce.

When we domesticated them we took over a responsibility to protect them and take care of them. We provide food, shelter, and protection against critters eating them. If wing clipping is part of your method to protect them then I consider it very ethical.

I personally do not wing clip. I have not found it necessary to manage them. Some people find it helpful.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When my birds are young and start flying over the fence, we clip one wing. That keeps them in. Usually by the time they molt and get new flight feathers they have grown too heavy to fly, and/or have forgotten they ever could.

 

[Mrs. K]

What does the top of your fence look like? Because generally, a chicken will fly to the top of the fence, land, then jump down on the other side. I have read, that be adjusting that so that there is nothing to land on, they stay in.

I too tried wing clipping, but gave it up. Not because of ethical reasoning, but it really didn't work for my purposes and predators. I have a totally enclosed run and coop.

However, I like to let mine out, and one year I had a rooster that would lead them up to my home. My DH did not like that and he trained them to stay out of the yard. If that is the real issue, you could use a high powered squirt gun, when they come up to the house.

There is a good chance, that the other two birds will be following over the fence soon. And there is a good chance that this will cure itself, as they get heavier.

Mrs K

 

[PacificChorusFrog]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I had a good friend help me clip the two Reds's wings. My friend has long experience with chickens and agreed that it's a good idea. One hen sulked for a while (hiding), and was also very reluctant to go into the coop in the evening. If I let them roost on their own they choose the hazel tree instead of the coop, so I always tuck them in at night.

I'm hoping by the time they molt they will have forgotten they can fly.