Ideal question

[vortec]

I took some time to fill up a cart on Ideal's website today to see if reaching the $20 minimum would be hard( It wasn't BTW ) When I advanced to the cart it told me that the dewinging, debilling and vaccination was not reccomended for small flocks. What is considered a small flock and why isn't it reccomended? Thanks for any input

vortec

 

[CBee]

I'm not an expert or anything, but just from what I've heard de-billing is not recommended unless you have tons of chickens that are going to be in a very crowded space, like a warehouse. When chickens get too cooped up they peck at each other, and it can often lead to death if there are many of them. That is why warehouses do it.

Vaccinations aren't usually needed-chick starter feed is medicated to give your chicks an antibiotic to the Cocci disease, but as long as they grow up in a healthy environment they shouldn't come down with anything too major.

I'd like to know what constitutes a small flock too.

Also, I don't know what it means by de-winging. Actually taking their wings off (that would be horrible!) or just clipping?

 

[Comet Mum]

I would get the Marek's vaccination. I would NOT get the cocci vaccination, I would feed medicated feed to help develop cocci immunity. I am considering vaccinating the chicks I get this spring for foul pox, Newcastle's and bronchitis. Here is a link with some information to consider: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/377/small-flock-vaccination

I don't think it is necessary to debeak for a flock with adequate space. I am not sure what is meant by dewinging. I have trimmed wings of adult birds to inhibit flight, but I have no clue what they would do to baby chicks

 

[camalianus]

De-winging means they cut the first feathers of the wing in a way that they wont grow to long, so they can't fly away.

 

[Akane]

Debeaking and cutting wings like that is highly controversial and usually considered cruel along with unnecessary by most people here. It's generally only done for large farms that keep chickens in crowded conditions where stress leads to them pecking each other and other bad behaviors. If you manage your chickens properly these things should not be an issue. You can also do a temporary clip to the wings if you need to keep them from flying over a fence and just reclip as needed. I don't think anyone here would suggest you do either of those to chicks and if you feel it's necessary someone should be able to come up with an alternative solution to the problem.

 

[ewesfullchicks]

Please don't consider debeaking your chickens - it's horrific mutilation, and very, very cruel.

Although I've been up to a little over 1,100 chickens, I've never had a problem that warranted such barbarity. When you keep chickens in hugely crowded, terribly stressful situations, then commercial growers debeak the poor birds. Giving them more space, and a humane way of living would prevent that problem.

Although young birds fly very well....as they mature, they simply become too heavy to fly over tall fences - so I've never needed to trim feathers, etc. or do anything nasty to their wings. Bantams DO continue to fly well!

Rachel
Bellecreek Farm

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I am about 100% certain that NO ONE "de wings" chickens. Some do CLIP wings. I even helped clip the wing on one of my mom's chickens recently. She just would NOT stop flying over the fence and getting lost. It is not any more cruel than cutting your fingernails. Debeaking is another story all together. Horrible, painful, debilitating......something I would never consider.

 

[Akane]

Clipping individual feathers is not harmful. I don't think that's what they were talking about though. You can't even clip individual feathers on a chick because they have none. In order to "de-wing" a chick they would have to mean removal of part of the wing for permanent wing clipping. That would be harmful and unneccessary.

 

[Cara]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1412098#p1412098

Clipping wings om a chick would make no sense; there's no feathers to clip yet. The feathers grow back at any age, it has to be repeated every few weeks.