Has anyone ever clipped a chickens wings to keep it from flying?

[Pandemic pandemonia]

I have one smaller rooster that can manage to fly up on top of the coops and I'm afraid he may fly over the fence and onto the hwy behind my house. I'm wondering if clipping his wing feathers would be an option to prevent this or if that is ever done to chickens or not. I have never done it and don't know if it would be safe or hurt him. I lived on a farm before with a lot of land between the coops and the roads but now I'm right next to a busy hwy. Anybody got any ideas or know about this?

 

[Pghelp]

Only clip one wing. Clipping affects their balance in flying so they are less likely to fly far and high. You'll be clipping the long flight feathers and it's best as a two person job -- one to hold the chicken and one to clip. There are some good tutorials on YouTube and even some series of still photo explanations online. Know that you'll be doing this once a year. Those feathers do grow back!

 

[Pandemic pandemonia]

Only clip one wing. Clipping affects their balance in flying so they are less likely to fly far and high. You'll be clipping the long flight feathers and it's best as a two person job -- one to hold the chicken and one to clip. There are some good tutorials on YouTube and even some series of still photo explanations online. Know that you'll be doing this once a year. Those feathers do grow back!

Thank you very much. I'm sure I will have to watch some tutorials on UTube or get help or something before I do. He is the loudest of my roosters and the prettiest one. I'd hate to loose him or have him create a wreck on the hwy.

 

[Jmiller89]

It’s very easy to do as Pghelp said only do one wing and you will have to redo only after a molt. When you stretch out the wing cut alongside the tops of the second layer of feathers. So you will only be cutting the larger flight feathers. On most birds I only do the first 6 feathers, on birds that are good flyers I do the whole wing.

 

[Pandemic pandemonia]

It’s very easy to do as Pghelp said only do one wing and you will have to redo only after a molt. When you stretch out the wing cut alongside the tops of the second layer of feathers. So you will only be cutting the larger flight feathers. On most birds I only do the first 6 feathers, on birds that are good flyers I do the whole wing.

Thank you. So you don't cut the first row of feathers at all? Just the second row on one wing? I have a lot to learn clearly. Thank you so much for the help.

 

[Pandemic pandemonia]

Thank you. So you don't cut the first row of feathers at all? Just the second row on one wing? I have a lot to learn clearly. Thank you so much for the help.

Will they bleed?

 

[Abriana]

Will they bleed?

If you cut very far up they might, but generally no. I have clipped wings on several birds and have never had it bleed!

 

[Pandemic pandemonia]

If you cut very far up they might, but generally no. I have clipped wings on several birds and have never had it bleed!

Thank you I wonder how far I should cut though like an inch maybe?

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Picture from google, not mine.
The Primaries are the ones you are cutting, and only to the small key (labeled axial feather in the picture). Only cut as high as the primary coverts. Maybe half an inch or so below them.

 

[Pandemic pandemonia]

View attachment 2441556
Picture from google, not mine.
The Primaries are the ones you are cutting, and only to the small key (labeled axial feather in the picture). Only cut as high as the primary coverts. Maybe half an inch or so below them.

That picture helps a lot. One person said they only cut about six of them. I am going to have to look at how the bird will look later too really. Cutting six might leave a few for appearance sake I guess. I am kind of torn on this because of predators too. It's like either keep him in his covered cage, clip the wings or do it and perhaps put him at risk of predator attack more too. Kind of between a rock and a hard place here.