The definitive wing clipping thread

[waynem1983]

So I have just had a discussion on another thread on a different forum with regards to wing clipping and I need expert answers on a few things.

My bluebell was up in a tree the first night I got her, so I clipped one wing, first 10 primary feathers, as low as I could get without going too low. Let her go, straight back up in the tree. So I got her down, clipped the other one, voilà, grounded.

Now there seems to be alot of controversy with regards to wing clipping. So a few questions.

1. Why only clip one? Is it to prevent any flight (not as far as my experience goes) or to let them retain some form of mild flight to escape predators?

2. People say clipping both gives balance back to the bird, defeating the purpose of clipping. Again not in my experience. Others say it grounds them, which is true for me.

looking online, I get arguments for both, including on this site. Is there a definitive answer to this?

 

[hxgumdrop]

My girls were escaping to next door until I clipped one wing then they stayed in my garden no problem it is strange this didnt work for you!

 

[centrarchid]

I am of the camp that clipping two is more effective in stopping wing assisted access to high places. My birds when clipped on one wing can not fly well but they still retain much of their ability to clamber (run up a surface and use wing(s) to provide additional thrust. Some of that thrust helps the feet maintain better purchase as climbing rapids up a surface as well as provides balance. A single wing may not be good for flight but still provides more thrust than two clipped wings.

I relate this based on experimentation with virtually an entire hen-house full of gamehens that fly better then virtually any other domestic chicken breed.