Peggy + clipped wings: penned or not?

[new 2 pfowl]

You peapeople must be getting very tired of hearing about Peggy and his misadventures.
Thank you all for your patience.

Now that I have him home with clipped wings, I wonder if it would be best to keep him penned or to just let him out to free range with his pals? I do realize that being out would make him more vulnerable to predators. I did read the threads about wing clipping, and see that it is generally not recommended for free ranging peas. We just don't really have a penned peacock frame of mind or setup here, and poor Peggy is used to being a "free bird."

Here are some pics of his clipped wings:

 

[connerhills]

My 2 cents ... If and when I clip wings I only clip one side as if both sides are the same just shorter, the birds still can fly some and still get a boost when they jump. I had a bird once that someone had pinioned him and he had to roost low .. the feral dogs or coyote got him one night and I had a chain link fence around the 6 ac. The bird will not get his wing feathers back until they moult . I have seen coyotes clear a 4 ft chain link and catch a bird while he was running through and clear the other side of the fence and not miss a step, all of the time I was standing there watching him, and he was fast.

 

[zazouse]

There is never a time when i would not like to hear about a pea adventure so don't you worry about that.
I too would keep poor peggy penned till he gets his wings back, can't believe someone did that he was only gone what a few days? but the fact is none seems to tried to find his home first.

 

[connerhills]

The feathers will come back when they moult ,, sometime this fall July,,, aug... I have a number of pens like you show and many have netting on them and is really no trouble with birds on the net,, not to say it will not happen., I tried tarps ...waste of money, went with 4x4 and heavy ga. metal roofing on a lot of them... connerhills

 

[zazouse]

Sorry no they have a cycle, extra protein will be great for feather growth when it is time.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry no they have a cycle, extra protein will be great for feather growth when it is time.

X2

 

[zazouse]

I dig up clumps of grass that has gone to seed and put it in my baby pens and they love it, i also always have a fgarden going so my birds get all kinds of eats besides free ranged foods.. they love squash, berries,greens,beets and beet top, the list goes on. a penned pea isn't gonna eat much so try not to worry he will be ok.. a change of senery in the pen helps with a boardom, cut some tree limbs and put them in there for a couple days.. dump a load of dirt in the center of the pen.. just change it up in there, even card board boxes and entertain a bird for a couple days.

 

[AugeredIn]

You might be better off than you think. Some of my birds molt primaries in the fall.

 

[casportpony]

I lost one to a coyote at the last place we lived because I had clipped his wings. Here we have a coyote proof fence, so it's not an issue unless they jump over, which one did once... That's the one that got lost that I had to go searching for.

If I were you, I'd keep Peggy penned until his feather grow back.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Thank you all for your invaluable advice.
I am also inclined to keep him penned until the feathers grow back.
Although I hope this isn't going to take too long...