So - I'm going to clip their wings....

[CupOJoe42]

You only have to clip one wing on each chicken, so consider half the work "done."

 

[itsy]

Pele - the most difficult females are CLEARLY the best females!!!

Dobies', I was reading around and looking at different videos. It seems that some people clip one wing and some people clip both. Wouldn't it be safer for me to clip both to make sure that they really didn't get any air? I wonder if it makes them feel off balance to have only one working wing.

 

[CupOJoe42]

That's basically the point - they won't be able to fly with only one wing clipped. If you do both wings, you defeat the purpose.

I personally don't clip the wings at all. My run isn't finished yet (neither is the coop) but I intend to enclose the top so they can't fly out and nothing can fly in.

 

[wilobrookfarms]

I think it depends on the bird too. I have a little oegb hen who kept roosting high in the coop, on the top of the door actually. Not a good idea, because this was the only area in the coop that has a 4-6 inch gap to the storage room. Its a good 6 feet up there. I clipped one wing, I was so sure she wouldn't be able to "fly"up there. Guess what, she was up on the top of the door the next night.! Its not a huge deal, as the coop is actually two rooms. She could possibly get to the storage area, but its also locked up tight to predators. Oh well, as said, they'll grow back.

 

[itsy]

Quote:
Wait - so if you clip their flight feathers on both sides - they can still fly? ....then why do so many people still clip both sides?

I can't cover the entire top. It's too much of an area.

 

[Homestead Family]

1.) Grab them off the perch at night, and gently clip, then put them back on the roost.
2.) Only clip the set of flight feathers on 1 wing. Do not clip both sides. By clipping 1, they are too off balanced to fly high. By clipping both, they will quickly learn to compensate for the lack of lift, and still fly high.
3.) If you have a light breed bird or a pullet, they still may be able to fly even after you clip them.
4.) If this is the case, gently attach tiny lead fishing weights to each leg, increasing the number of weights with each subsequent escape attempt by your renegade birds.
5.) In case you were wondering, # 4 was merely a joke, and not an actual recommendation.

 

[itsy]

Thanks for the clarification, Homestead! I'll clip only the one side. All but one are pullets and my little leghorn flys like a pro. We'll see how this goes. I'll letcha all know. I read your #4 and was nodding as to how reasonable that sounded until I read your last comment. lol.

 

[nurse_turtle]

I would clip both sides of primary feathers. I do this to our African Grey who is a great distance flyer if he has all his primaries. I would be worried that the balance problems caused by just cutting one side may lead to injuries and an inability of the bird to escape predators. It's hard to believe a chicken could fly without primaries when a much lighter parrot can't do it even with a stiff breeze.

And watch out for the blood feathers. If you cut one, your bird can easily bleed to death. If you happen to cut a blood feather, pluck the entire feather ASAP to stop the bleeding.

 

[itsy]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice on the plucking if I cut the wrong feather. Here's the reason why there's so much confusion out there! I hear what you're saying, Nurse. And I know there are definitely chicken folks who clip both sides. There's got to be some wonderful article out there to read on the topic - and I'm sure a ton of posts on here that talk about it.

The official BYC link to how to clip chicken feathers DOES note to only clip one side...............

 

[Homestead Family]

This is an excerpt from by favorite book ever by my favorite homesteading author ever, Carla Emery. She writes:

"If you are troubled with birds that fly out over the top of your fence, then clip the wings of the flyers. You do that on one wing only, and the outer row of feathers only. Those will be large primary wing feathers. Cut with sharp scissors. That ruins their aviation balance. But remember that feathers will grow back and have to be cut again."

We have over 130 chickens in a huge fenced in area. The fence is 6 feet tall, but the occasional light breed (our Brown Leghorns) or pullet will fly out. Our ever watchful Border Collie quickly corners the chicken until I come and clip the feathers and then place it safely back in the pen. Works like a charm - no harm - no fowl.