PROPER WING CLIPPING TO AID IN CONTAINMENT WITH PERIMETER FENCING

[sylviethecochin]

Bottom line is if they are going over the fence there is a problem and it is not because they have feathers on their wing/s!

No, it's because the little monsters are after my strawberry bushes. Again.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

You might be reading a liiiiitle too deep into it. Chickens are naughty and curious and some will stop at nothing to explore.

The other side of a fence can be a horrible place with dogs and such and IMO there's nothing wrong with making sure they stay put. Cutting feathers does not hurt.

 

[centrarchid]

Another Reason to Properly Clip Wings of Free-range Chickens

Almost every day at least 2 hours before dark I release several groups of juveniles to forage and get some exercise plus dust bath. During that interval we have very good protection with me present and dogs that would love to chomp any predator eating visitor that comes in. Most of the chickens return to their roost on their own, but sometimes a small number do not. Most that do not want to roost where they are supposed to select higher locations than what is afforded by their elevated pens. The higher locations tend to the Bradford Pears that are within flying range from the elevated pens. White Oaks are another tree option sometimes used. I can spend close to 30 minutes every evening policing up those wayward birds. Most people would not go to such trouble. Some of the birds can roost up near the limit of what I can reach with a pole. It is possible to roost beyond my reach foliage too dense for me to see through. So what? Oh yeh, ............my favorite GHO buddies that come in almost every night. My little GHO buddies are not inclined to move the wayward chickens into pens for me. Rather, the owl will grab a chicken, usually the smallest they can find and.....

EAT ITS HEAD AND NECK!

That is aggravating for me because I am selfish I guess. Shame on me. I am not considerate of my birds love of freedom when it can cost them their lives so regularly. If someone is going to eat my chickens, then it needs to be me. The neck is my favorite part.

Clipping is a tool that can be used to make so the birds cannot get into that Bradford Pear or Red Oak yet still reach the elevated pen if done properly. If the birds cannot reach the tree, then they will go into their elevated pen. Oooo! See the possibility? Proper degree of clipping can reduce my labor each evening and decrease odds a chicken will find itself out of my reach where it can be dinner for the GHO. Even birds that are not clipped are unable beat a GHO after dark.


GHO = Great-horned Owl

 

[RWise]

Properly clipping "a wing" can be a good "tool"

I free range all day, dawn to dark, with the coop locked up at night. I have 30 acres of trees, some 60-80 feet tall, with branches they could easily reach. But my birds like their spacious well ventilated and safe coop! I too have owls,,,

Do I have any birds that have a clipped wing?
Well yes, I have 2 GEMs that took flight, they were getting 20-30 feet in the air and flying around the farm. It was odd to watch them go through an open gate some 25 feet above it, and they never went outside their run.
Actually is was very cool to see, yet all I could think was they were going to get grabbed in mid flight by the hawks. Or fly away and get lost,,, That night I clipped very lightly (no more than 3/4 of an inch) off their right wing. They have not been air-born since. Yet they will have no issues getting on/off the roost, or fleeing a predator.

I would be looking for a problem with the coop! Why do they NOT want to go in it? Too dark, to hot, to smelly, no room etc..
And Good Luck!

 

[centrarchid]

Properly clipping "a wing" can be a good "tool"

I free range all day, dawn to dark, with the coop locked up at night. I have 30 acres of trees, some 60-80 feet tall, with branches they could easily reach. But my birds like their spacious well ventilated and safe coop! I too have owls,,,

Do I have any birds that have a clipped wing?
Well yes, I have 2 GEMs that took flight, they were getting 20-30 feet in the air and flying around the farm. It was odd to watch them go through an open gate some 25 feet above it, and they never went outside their run.
Actually is was very cool to see, yet all I could think was they were going to get grabbed in mid flight by the hawks. Or fly away and get lost,,, That night I clipped very lightly (no more than 3/4 of an inch) off their right wing. They have not been air-born since. Yet they will have no issues getting on/off the roost, or fleeing a predator.

I would be looking for a problem with the coop! Why do they NOT want to go in it? Too dark, to hot, to smelly, no room etc..
And Good Luck!

Note your resources. You should be stating those in the very beginning when making the assertions you made. Most backyard keepers cannot match them. People must be able to adapt to resources they have, not force approaches that work better in another setting. This is also about birds that are ideally confined to some location defined by boundaries on the ground. I assume GEM's are something other than chickens.

Bird species that rely more upon flight will be more impacted by asymmetry when engaging in sustained flight where endurance is normally an important consideration for carrying out a given flight. Even a slight reduction in flight performance can be a major issue when pursued by something like a hawk.

 

[RWise]

Note your resources. You should be stating those in the very beginning when making the assertions you made. Most backyard keepers cannot match them. People must be able to adapt to resources they have, not force approaches that work better in another setting. This is also about birds that are ideally confined to some location defined by boundaries on the ground. I assume GEM's are something other than chickens.

Bird species that rely more upon flight will be more impacted by asymmetry when engaging in sustained flight where endurance is normally an important consideration for carrying out a given flight. Even a slight reduction in flight performance can be a major issue when pursued by something like a hawk.

GEMs, Green Egg Machines (not my name choice for them) are chickens! And just because I have 30 acres does not mean the birds do, they stay within the 4 foot fences. My run may be bigger than those in the city at 150 feet by 225 feet, but I have near 40 birds in it. (1 is a turkey)
Find why your birds are unhappy with their coop and fix it, you will all be happier!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

That night I clipped very lightly (no more than 3/4 of an inch) off their right wing. They have not been air-born since.

So have they tried and you were able to see they couldn't make it? Or they magically haven't tried?

Why did they insist on flying through an open gate? Were they not happy? Many birds don't see fences as a boundary... just an obstacle.

I think it's funny that you think a bird has to be "not happy" to engage in natural curios behaviors... including thinking the grass is greener on the other side.

If things are sooo bad in my pasture or coop why is it that only 1 or 2 out of 80+ birds behave that way??? They are individuals, with more inclination to see what's out there... that's it. They always come home to roost INSIDE the coop, in my situation. And I'm SURE there may be flock dynamics at play... but to just say "your coop or run MUST be the problem"... I'm gonna go ahead and agree to disagree on this issue and understand that when someone has something SET in their head... no amount of talking will ever convince them.

Yes, we might be able to put higher roost in the coop... I WON'T, I need to reach the birds at MY convenience. I keep them to keep ME happy in MY set up... and ANY bird who won't get with the program... WON'T need to worry about "predators"!

 

[RWise]

So have they tried and you were able to see they couldn't make it? Or they magically haven't tried?

Why did they insist on flying through an open gate? Were they not happy? Many birds don't see fences as a boundary... just an obstacle.

I think it's funny that you think a bird has to be "not happy" to engage in natural curios behaviors... including thinking the grass is greener on the other side.

If things are sooo bad in my pasture or coop why is it that only 1 or 2 out of 80+ birds behave that way??? They are individuals, with more inclination to see what's out there... that's it. They always come home to roost INSIDE the coop, in my situation. And I'm SURE there may be flock dynamics at play... but to just say "your coop or run MUST be the problem"... I'm gonna go ahead and agree to disagree on this issue and understand that when someone has something SET in their head... no amount of talking will ever convince them.

Yes, we might be able to put higher roost in the coop... I WON'T, I need to reach the birds at MY convenience. I keep them to keep ME happy in MY set up... and ANY bird who won't get with the program... WON'T need to worry about "predators"!

And yours would be a totally different situation than the person i was talking to.

Why did they fly over the open gate, IDK
"I think it's funny that you think a bird has to be "not happy" to engage in natural curios behaviors... including thinking the grass is greener on the other side."
That is nit what I said.
"If things are sooo bad in my pasture or coop why is it that only 1 or 2 out of 80+ birds behave that way???"
I also did not say that to you.

 

[TheGoldenGirlz]

And yours would be a totally different situation than the person i was talking to.

Why did they fly over the open gate, IDK
"I think it's funny that you think a bird has to be "not happy" to engage in natural curios behaviors... including thinking the grass is greener on the other side."
That is nit what I said.
"If things are sooo bad in my pasture or coop why is it that only 1 or 2 out of 80+ birds behave that way???"
I also did not say that to you.

I’m confused as to why you keep commenting on this, not to sound aggressive at all. I’m genuinely interested. I’m fairly new to wing clipping, but it doesn’t seem too bad to me. If you do it right it should just be like a haircut that prevents flight, right? In my opinion, a chicken doesn’t need to fly in order to be happy. Again, in my opinion, a chicken flying out of its designated area doesn’t mean that anything is necessarily wrong, happy and well cared for dogs run away from home all the time going after a squirrel or what not. I’m truly not trying to come off as a jerk, sorry if the first part sounded that way.

 

[RWise]

I’m confused as to why you keep commenting on this, not to sound aggressive at all. I’m genuinely interested. I’m fairly new to wing clipping, but it doesn’t seem too bad to me. If you do it right it should just be like a haircut that prevents flight, right?

IF wing clipping is done right, but right does not involve both wings, or clipping so heavy (as in the bird I was gifted), that they have only hairy arms.

In my opinion, a chicken doesn’t need to fly in order to be happy. Again, in my opinion, a chicken flying out of its designated area doesn’t mean that anything is necessarily wrong, happy and well cared for dogs run away from home all the time going after a squirrel or what not. I’m truly not trying to come off as a jerk, sorry if the first part sounded that way.

My dogs, just like my chickens are right under my feet. Of course the dogs do hunt, and they do get out of my site, I have a big place so no harm (we took out a raccoon this morning). The chickens would not be safe where the dogs and I go. Though there is a cockerel that follows us, and clipping his wing will not keep him in (nor would cutting them off), he is an escape artist. This will work out in a few weeks,,,,
Most of my birds do not fly, (some are to old/heavy to fly) except on and off the roost, more of a jump. Very few have jumped the fence, when they do I watch what they are after.
Here a chicken flying outside of their area is very bad and can lead to their death. This, for me, makes it wrong for them to fly 20-30 feet in the air. Now when these girls molt, these feathers will be shed and grow back, most likely I will not need to clip their wing, ever again. They will have effectively been trained not to fly,even if that is they just weight more..