Help...Help...Help

[Avenhall]

I am caring for my uncles animals.. Two geese three ducks...A full grown rooster and fourteen chicks..

I was okay until the chicks started to become airborne, I konw their wings need to be clipped but how does one person manage to do this? I had them on the grass a couple of times and they scratch nest and eat the grass but now I am afraid to remove them from their coop because of a big cat ( not ours)
always lerking around and the fact that the can run like the wind and fly....Suggestions please... Oh I was raised in Chicago.

 

[miss_jayne]

you don't need to clip chicks wings. they cannot fly away. they will flutter about. if there is a cat near, DON'T clip them. they need to be able to get away.

chickens don't NEED to be clipped unless they are escaping into somewhere they shouldn't. if that is the case, which they sound too young to be, but if it is, you clip the flight feathers on each wing. some people will tell you just one wing, but that doesn't always work.

 

[gumpsgirl]

First off, welcome!

Second, is there a reason you are removing them from their coop to begin with? If the cat is an issue, just leave them in the coop. It will be much less stress for you and you know the chicks will stay safe.

 

[miss_jayne]

okay a few more questions for you....

do you know how old the chicks are?

can you let them out while you are out with them and then put them back away?

how long will they be in your care?

 

[M To The Maxx]

You dom't need to clip a chicks wings.

 

[tulie13]

Quote:
How old are the chicks? How long are you going to be in charge of them before your uncle gets back?

I agree with the others - wings don't "need" to be clipped - but you need to be sure the birds are in a safe environment and cannot just wander off. Are they in a coop with an attached run? Or free range? Do they normally come back after wandering around?