How high can an 11 wk. chicken fly? Is wing clipping humane?

[Dixiechick55]

We are releasing our approx. 11 week old chickens into their run this week. They have been in a coop now for about a month and I know they will be blissfully happy to be out foraging and scratching around! We have 6, and some fly pretty well when motivated as they are still pretty light. Our fence is about 10 feet in most places but only about 5 feet towards our garden entrance gate. I worry that they will be curious enough to jump the fence. Since the run backs up to a fairly busy street I'd like to prevent them from accidentally wandering out there. I could take a wait and see approach but don't want to regret that later. I am inclined to clip one wing just to avoid a problem but my husband isn't on board. Any one with experience with this issue?

 

[Pghelp]

We are releasing our approx. 11 week old chickens into their run this week. They have been in a coop now for about a month and I know they will be blissfully happy to be out foraging and scratching around! We have 6, and some fly pretty well when motivated as they are still pretty light. Our fence is about 10 feet in most places but only about 5 feet towards our garden entrance gate. I worry that they will be curious enough to jump the fence. Since the run backs up to a fairly busy street I'd like to prevent them from accidentally wandering out there. I could take a wait and see approach but don't want to regret that later. I am inclined to clip one wing just to avoid a problem but my husband isn't on board. Any one with experience with this issue?

At 6 weeks our Leghorn and a couple of others could levitate to the top of the coop and our 4 ft fence with no effort at all. We have clipped wings on our older girls but I hate the job. It's a 2-person task, one to hold and one to clip so if your husband isn't on board you'll need a helper. It has to be done every year too because the feathers grow back. We're looking to build a more secure run with a covering on top for these additions to our flock. I'm tired of the annual wing trimming. These new chicks turn 2 months this week and at least 3 of them are excellent flyers. Time for a secure top before they're allowed in the yard without supervision.

 

[Parront]

We are releasing our approx. 11 week old chickens into their run this week. They have been in a coop now for about a month and I know they will be blissfully happy to be out foraging and scratching around! We have 6, and some fly pretty well when motivated as they are still pretty light. Our fence is about 10 feet in most places but only about 5 feet towards our garden entrance gate. I worry that they will be curious enough to jump the fence. Since the run backs up to a fairly busy street I'd like to prevent them from accidentally wandering out there. I could take a wait and see approach but don't want to regret that later. I am inclined to clip one wing just to avoid a problem but my husband isn't on board. Any one with experience with this issue?

Wing clipping is completely painless, like trimming your hair or fingernails. It sounds like a matter of their safety to keep them in the yard, and I have had birds fly even with clipped wings. A netting over the run where you are concerned, like the previous poster recommended, sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[orloffer]

I agree, wing clipping does not hurt the bird at all, and the feathers will grow back.

 

[centrarchid]

Approach below directly applicable. Bilateral more effective than unilateral, although if height flight must be high enough, then unilateral will work. See link below.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...with-perimeter-fencing.1261276/#post-20243847

 

[Eggscaping]

We are releasing our approx. 11 week old chickens into their run this week. They have been in a coop now for about a month and I know they will be blissfully happy to be out foraging and scratching around! We have 6, and some fly pretty well when motivated as they are still pretty light. Our fence is about 10 feet in most places but only about 5 feet towards our garden entrance gate. I worry that they will be curious enough to jump the fence. Since the run backs up to a fairly busy street I'd like to prevent them from accidentally wandering out there. I could take a wait and see approach but don't want to regret that later. I am inclined to clip one wing just to avoid a problem but my husband isn't on board. Any one with experience with this issue?

This should help you: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-clip-your-chickens-wings.1164971/#post-18327907

 

[CindyinSD]

None of my birds (except turkeys and young geese) have even attempted to fly over so much as my 3 ft high poultry netting. If they did, I guess I would clip a wing, but before doing it again, I'd want to see whether it was necessary. I have read that this clipping is often only needed once and after that the bird does not try. It's funny. They'll fly up onto things higher than the netting, but unless the netting is near the thing--for example, a round bale on one occasion--tall as me and a bit more--yet unless the netting was right by it, they'd hop up onto it, pick around a bit, then hop back down inside their pen.

Note, the netting/pen isn't intended to keep them in, but predators out (it's energized). During the day I open it and they go where they please. I would not like to have their ability to escape any type of daytime predators hampered by clipping their flight feathers, but your situation, I think, is different. Still, it's a consideration.

If your fence has a defined top edge, that could encourage them to hop/fly out. They see a roost and fly up to it then hop down on the wrong side. This applies whether there's an actual roost or just the top edge of a wind tarp, etc. If they see a roost and can get to it, they will end up outside (often pacing the perimeter, begging to be let back in. ) A length of chicken wire added at the top of your short fence might be all you need to discourage them flying out. A lot of this is a mind game. But if you think it's best, certainly clip. You will know what's right for your girls.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

We are releasing our approx. 11 week old chickens into their run this week. They have been in a coop now for about a month and I know they will be blissfully happy to be out foraging and scratching around! We have 6, and some fly pretty well when motivated as they are still pretty light. Our fence is about 10 feet in most places but only about 5 feet towards our garden entrance gate. I worry that they will be curious enough to jump the fence. Since the run backs up to a fairly busy street I'd like to prevent them from accidentally wandering out there. I could take a wait and see approach but don't want to regret that later. I am inclined to clip one wing just to avoid a problem but my husband isn't on board. Any one with experience with this issue?

Hi, your girls are going to need more than their wings clipped to keep them safe I agree. I have 5 week old chicks that are not even fully feathered who can fly up as far as they want to. They get over six feet and that’s in my house. That limitation is my bathroom in my shop where they are at night. They are excellent fliers. At eleven weeks I bet yours are for sure. You need netting or a roof over your run. We have so many predators here that we had to put a roof on ours. Good luck to you with them!