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

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I have never seen a chicken outfly any hawk or owl. And they are usually too panicked to head for a tree when the fox is after them.

so far, everything I have seen agrees with this. Their flying never keeps them out of trouble, just gets them into trouble

my little-brown-girls don't fly much anyway (the chickens have their wings), but they helicopter jump up to get into the compartments of others if they think they can steal food. (food in someone else's bowl is irresistible)

my ducks (Muscovies) put themselves in danger with their wings and whenever they end up in a confrontation they NEVER try to fly away. They stand their ground and squawk in the face of their enemies. The most intimidating behaviour is to raise the tiny feathers on their heads like a little bristle brush. It is not scary to anyone. It has gotten one of them some pretty hard pecks on the head from the turkey, and thankfully the dogs she met had humans to pull them off her. If they used the wings to protect themselves I would be more inclined to fight for them, but their using the road as a landing strip is too dangerous for everyone.

By the way, there is no pain involved, the only feathers you cut have no sensation in them. (not blood feathers) It is like a haircut, just a really bad one.

 

[Dizzydog]

I find that I only need to clip a wing when my girls are young. Once they put on a little weight and "learn" not to try to fly they stay put very nicely. On rare occasions I have had to clip wings twice. When that becomes necessary I always clip the opposite wing as they tend to learn to compensate for the short wing. Clipping the opposite wing throws them off again.

Couldn't find the comments section. I clip the ones i can catch!!

Just wait till they go to roost for the night. Much easier to catch with lights shining in their eyes.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

I clip the wings of chickens that fly over the fence or roost in trees. The fence and the coop keep them safe, so they are safer with clipped wings. One of my fence flying hens and a tree roosting hen were both killed because they were not in a protected area.

I have never seen a chicken fly to escape predators, only run. Has anyone here saying they don't clip wings to keep them safe from predators actually seen a chicken fly away from a predator?

 

[LABird]

Wing clipping is the most common method of controlling the flight of backyard chickens. For example, some may fly over your fence or out of their uncovered run, exposing them to all sorts of dangers. Clipping the wings just means cutting a little bit off the first few feathers on the wing, making it harder for them to fly. Some like to just clip one wing so that they fly sideways as this imbalances the bird, making it difficult for her/him to fly.

Do you clip your chickens' wings? Place your vote above & feel free to elaborate in the comments section.

View attachment 2508536

Further reading:
How To Clip Trim The Wings Of Your Chicken To Prevent Flight

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

Periodically. Usually just the ones who show a tendency to fly over fencing or roost in trees

 

[Nanny Sway]

I haven't needed to but will if they ever fly out of the yard. They are almost a year old and haven't tried yet so I think I'm pretty safe.

Wing clipping is the most common method of controlling the flight of backyard chickens. For example, some may fly over your fence or out of their uncovered run, exposing them to all sorts of dangers. Clipping the wings just means cutting a little bit off the first few feathers on the wing, making it harder for them to fly. Some like to just clip one wing so that they fly sideways as this imbalances the bird, making it difficult for her/him to fly.

Do you clip your chickens' wings? Place your vote above & feel free to elaborate in the comments section.

View attachment 2508536

Further reading:
How To Clip Trim The Wings Of Your Chicken To Prevent Flight

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

No need my chickens are happy and don't fly.

 

[AnnieFoothills]

I clipped the wings of my first flock, just one side. They kept flying over the electirc netting fence. There were plenty of urban fox in the village (UK) I lived in back then.
I clipped the wings again of my first Albertan flock, again, only after they had organized themselves and were planning their trip to freeeeeeeedom.
I now live in a ruralish area, coyotes and foxes abound. Especially the foxes. The electric fence is vital for keeping Mr and Mrs Fox at bay. But a clipped wing shorten the chickens flight path.
My next flock will have wings clipped if there are escape attempts......
Chickens are organised.

 

[tcfoster]

For those that are putting sad face emojis on my post and saying that this is like de-clawing a cat, it really isn't at all. As long as you do it correctly the birds do not feel a thing. However they do look slightly appalled! I used to be very anti-wing clip until I saw one of my babies get mauled by the dog next door. Clipping one wing has no ill effect on my girls except to keep them alive. They can still roost, jump, flutter, etc. I am pro-wing clipping now in situations that it's needed. Really people it's not hurting them at all.

 

[Borders3]

As ours are totally free-range they are not clipped as I want them to be able to get away from any predators, being in the UK it's mainly foxes or dogs off lead. At the moment with having to keep them enclosed due to Avian Flu they have now got a covered run so still no need for clipping wings.

 

[Johanna Albertine]

I love to see them take short flights. Let birds be birds.

 

[centralcaligirl]

I clipped a few of my newest pullet's wings (just one side) because they were flying over the fence and one of them was killed by my neighbor's dog. It's worked like a charm.

I have a six-foot fence around the entire yard where they can free range safely all day, but neighbors on all three sides have dogs. I clip once the first year and by the second year they are too heavy to fly over the fence.