LittleFlock_FearNoFoe
In the Brooder
- Jun 10, 2024
- 2
- 16
- 21
TL;DR: I clipped my 4 chickens' primary flight feathers over half a year ago, and they have not grown back. Is this normal?
Hi everyone! This is my first post here (besides the introduction) and one of the big reasons why I decided to join this message board... my wife and I are first time chicken owners and we live in a suburb and don't know anyone with a lot of chicken experience to call upon.
Because we are in the suburb, we clip our chickens' wings to prevent them from flying over the fence and getting into the street. Our chickens hatched last February or March. We clipped one of their wings for the first time last June or July (can't remember... they were all egg-laying by that time). I clipped only the 10 or so primary flight feathers so they were a little longer than the convert feathers. We watched tons of YouTube videos to make sure we were doing it correctly. No blood, ever. The chickens didn't even seem to mind that much. A couple weeks later, we clipped their opposite wing. We went back and forth until the fall when they started to get less adventurous. They molted this past winter.
This past weekend I had to go retrieve them all from the other side of the fence way too frequently, so my wife and I decided we would clip their wings again. To our surprise, when we extended their wings, their primary flight feathers were all half the full length, as if they were just clipped, even though it has been more than half of a year since! Should I be concerned that these did not grow back, neither in their molt or in the months since? They seem like they're all happy... eating, drinking, pooping, and laying just like chickens do. So why aren't their feathers growing?
Hi everyone! This is my first post here (besides the introduction) and one of the big reasons why I decided to join this message board... my wife and I are first time chicken owners and we live in a suburb and don't know anyone with a lot of chicken experience to call upon.
Because we are in the suburb, we clip our chickens' wings to prevent them from flying over the fence and getting into the street. Our chickens hatched last February or March. We clipped one of their wings for the first time last June or July (can't remember... they were all egg-laying by that time). I clipped only the 10 or so primary flight feathers so they were a little longer than the convert feathers. We watched tons of YouTube videos to make sure we were doing it correctly. No blood, ever. The chickens didn't even seem to mind that much. A couple weeks later, we clipped their opposite wing. We went back and forth until the fall when they started to get less adventurous. They molted this past winter.
This past weekend I had to go retrieve them all from the other side of the fence way too frequently, so my wife and I decided we would clip their wings again. To our surprise, when we extended their wings, their primary flight feathers were all half the full length, as if they were just clipped, even though it has been more than half of a year since! Should I be concerned that these did not grow back, neither in their molt or in the months since? They seem like they're all happy... eating, drinking, pooping, and laying just like chickens do. So why aren't their feathers growing?
