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

[MixedFlock23]

I used to clip wings (trim the flight feathers does probably sound better to those unfamiliar with clipping wings). My full grown hens would randomly fly over the five foot fence leaving there food & water & 100 sq ft-per-hen run for some grass. Fine, if I’m home by dark to put them back inside... not fine, if I’m gone and dusk falls. Too many foxes & raccoons at dusk and night. (I had lost a few to dusk predators when I was away at Wednesday night church before getting an automatic pop door.) Never have I seen one fly out and then fly back in. I’d only clip repeat offenders.

Clipped wings (i.e. trimmed feathers) grow back. The process doesn’t hurt either. I knew it was time to trim again when one or two would fly out of the pen again!

After five years of just having an open top 5’ fence, we had a juvenile red tailed hawk kill a pullet in the run (in front of my daughter) in the middle of the day (our first daytime predator attack), and I immediately bought & installed bird netting. That was last fall and now all my birds have unclipped feathers and I have no reason to trim. I even added several branches in every corner of the run and the love them! (Before the closing the top, branches would have become steps to boost them all right out & over to the grass.). I do let them free range in the yard when I’m outside (& have cockerels to help guard them too).

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Pardon me* but no, I don't.

I just scold mine and put her back in the run or sometimes I go into the run with treats and leave her locked out and unable to get any, LOL!

 

[My hen house]

It doesn't do anything for most of my hens they "jump" not fly

 

[My hen house]

I just scold mine and put her back in the run or sometimes I go into the run with treats and leave her locked out and unable to get any, LOL!

Hah same

 

[Bill752]

Currently we clip one wing & if they still get over to the neighbors' then we clip the other wing as well & then if they jump in with our breeding flock then we'll pinion their wings. This year I'm going to pinion their wings to refrain from having to clip them as I regret not pinioning all of them last year.

 

[Cherrytreefarm]

The ones who fly outside of the poultry net will get clipped, they are in there to protect them from predators. We have had a fox attack them during the day so they free range safely inside the electric poultry wire now.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

The ones who fly outside of the poultry net will get clipped, they are in there to protect them from predators. We have had a fox attack them during the day so they free range safely inside the electric poultry wire now.

sometimes love is spelled 'no'

keeping them safe is most of our jobs as hen-keepers

 

[Cherrytreefarm]

sometimes love is spelled 'no'

keeping them safe is most of our jobs as hen-keepers

Yes absolutely, it has been horrible in the past when we have lost chickens to predators, they are happy and safe now

 

[Imse]

No, we don't. And why would we, if the fence is low enough for the hens to fly out, then think about all predators that can come in.

It is our responsibility to keep our animals safe, so no, no wing clippings, since there are no need for it. Keeping safe in our opinion is to keep the birds in a run that is covered and has a strong fence with small enough masks. We have had free ranging chickens in the past and never more...
If we need to catch the birds for inspection, treatment etc, we do it at night, when they all are propped up on the roost, and just pluck them down one by one. So much more calm and less stressful for the birds.

 

[M-H-Fielding]

I don't clip my chickens wings because they hardly ever try to jump the fence. I only have two leghorns, and they are TERRIFIED of the fence. I'm not sure why, but they never go near it.