To clip or not to clip wings

[moodlymoo]

I am a new chicken mommy and have 6 chicks. 2 are 10days and have started "flying" out of the brooder and far into the yard. What is wing clipping, does it hurt them, and how is it done?

 

[Brandon97]

whatever you do, DO NOT CLIP THIER WINGS UNTIL THEY ARE MATURE!
if you clip the wings now or in the near future, the wings will heavily bleed and they will loose a lot of blood, could bleed to death because thier flights feathers are still growing so have a lot of blood in them
wing clipping is when you clip ONE wings flight feathers so that the bird cannot recieve enough lift, and if they did it wouldnt be equal so couldnt take off
chickens dont fly anyway, they can just propel themselves a bit higher
use a scissors or whatever, but when they are adults
clip about 3/4cm off the longest flight feathers of a LF hen, and 2/2.5 cm off of a bantam.
when done now it would hurt/kill the chicks, if done in 5 months it wont harm or hurt them, if you take a sensible amount off, they WILL squirm around, but would yo if somebody was that near your arm with a giant scissors?
how high is your coop? dont do it if it is over 4/5 foot and nothing around that they can climb up on and jump over, if less than 5 foot yes clip their FLIGHT FEATHERS on ONE wing.
and as for now, put a lid on the brooder, or extend the sides

 

[peepblessed]

I can finally clip adults without shuddering! You're a good mommy to ask for help. Isn't BYC great!

 

[moodlymoo]

Thanks for all the info. This is my first flock and I am learning so much from this site. I want to do right with my babies and spend so much time here. You are all so awesome.

One of my gals almost became a scooby snack a few moments ago so I am trying to get control of them quickly. Why wont she listen to me when I tell her nono lol! I have them in my yard durring my yard sale so they can have some fresh air and sunshine but she is about to get grounded if she doesnt start listening better

 

[tclegg]

Quote:
x2 yes I agree--not now--they are too young..There is some good pics on here to look at and keep for reference when you are ready...save on desktop or file for later use..that's what I do so it's ready for my use...
Also just wondering, what type of chickens do you have? also depends on maturity and weight at full adulthood. What type of coop/run before then. What is their environment now/then? Just something to think about...How many? Predators?Neighbors? etc? What or how much time can you devote to them--running--eating-foraging? Not discouraging you...because I have been there...just want to put all cards on table...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's just me but I don't clip. I build even taller fences or covered runs.

 

[Impress]

Sometimes just one wing won't work, just in my experience, but some of my younger hens have still been able to achieve that flight to the top of the fence that leads to escape with one wing trimmed. Clipping both wings has kept those coop bound. I usually only do one wing though unless I have an escape artist.

 

[dabblingducks]

They are too young to be clipped - try raising the sides of the fence... we put netting over the top of our chickens' coop. They don't really fly far though, as they know where they're being fed etc.! You can clip the wings if necessary when they are mature.

 

[Brandon97]

i dont really clip, i did when my roo was escaping because we had logs he could climb on and jump out, and still did when we extended the coop from 4 foot to 7! some chickens need some persuading, and clipping wings is the only thing that keeps them down, but others prefer to stay with the flock. usually, chickens escape because they are not happy with the space they have, dislike something in the run, dislike the coop or dislike another bird. it could also be caused by them seeing other fowl in another run near to them, or seeing/smelling food outside thier run. also what breed are your chickens, are they hens or cockerels, bantams or LF? and put fishing line across the run, crossing it over, this stops them getting out and things getting in. sadly, 2 of my silkies, a cockerel and pullet were killed by a hawk, it was giant!!! never seen anything like it, im so upset, it was the most gruesome death ever!

i was going to shoot it, but i remembered it is endangered, ugh. they are the worst predators to me! they can travel at 40mph, dive kill the bird and come back later to pluck it, chew its head off and fly away with the body(which i interrupted so it left it there) it was so big that it wont fit through the gaps, one thing, where do you live? this can make a MASSIVE difference regarding how your coop is set up.
these were some things i forgot to mention in my previous comment
happy to help and welcome to the best hobby in the world

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

We clip to keep them out of the pasture. Trim the primary, but as it was said sometimes trimming just 1 wing won't do, but always start with one.