Official BYC Poll: Do You Clip Your Chickens' Wings?

[TreeChick]

I’ve only clipped one chickens wing ever, only one side. She is a rescue who had escaped into an urban area and been picked up by animal control. I adopted her from a shelter and because she was very flighty and afraid of me for the first month I didn’t want her to fly over a fence out of the yard. She was around 4-5 months old when I got her so I knew she’d grow her adult feathers and hopefully trust me and not be inclined to escape once I had won her over it worked great!

 

[Eric Rosario]

We need to trim feathers on their wings just the feathers not the wing itself to prevent the flight. Some of our chickens are lighter and vital and they were able to to land off in their are and flight over the fence that is 180cm high, or fly over to the neighbour's garden so to prevent this we cut the feathers on the wings for these.
Another method shorting the wing (meat) it self when it is a chick i found that too drastic, it's mostly used pheasant and other birds that would fly away.
Till the feathers regrow the chicks are mature and more heavy to fly that much again.

 

[Chickassan]

Nope, mine are lead balloons.

 

[kerbotx]

I would if I needed to, I would not hesitate - but I currently have no need to do so, and haven't in a long while. I've been wondering if we should rename this practice, as it seems to horrify new chicken keepers...

Trim flight feathers
Trim feathertips

It's not like declawing cats, folks! It's somewhere in between a haircut & trimming your dog's nails.

 

[casportpony]

I chose other because some of mine get one wing clipped, some get both clipped, and many never get clipped. The free-ranging peafowl, the turkey, and the call ducks are always clipped because they can fly.

 

[LizzzyJo]

I definitely would in a different situation, but mine free range and need their full abilities to flee from predators when needed.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Don't do it any more...

 

[SueT]

I have bird net stretched over the runs, so no one can fly out. So no feather trimming needed.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I dont, but I would if I lived in town

 

[Manhen]

I have 190 fun pets and 3 mean ones. The hens and a few selected roosters are in the main pen, and the 30 or so other roosters free range during the day. If a rooster flies into the pen, or a hen flies out, I clip the wings while moving them to the right spot. Minor clip of both wings. The one hen that is a culprit (a bit randy at that) will fly 20 yards in a nice arc, or up into a tree branch 7.5 feet up. The roosters are the leghorns, one young cockrel welsummer made it, and he was allowed to stay.

So...I lightly clip both wings of problem birds (chickens). My thought is I like these animals because of flight. And there are no other birds I can rightly keep. Mebee an ostrich.... I don't lightly rob them of this talent.