When can I clip their wings?

[Our7Wonders]

My chicken needs to be grounded! I have one hen in particular who insists on flying out of the run. She's a silly little hen - as soon as she flies out she peeps and squaks to get back in, but can't figure out her escape route in reverse. She's a barred rock, 12 weeks old and I'd like to clip a wing to discourage flying out, but am afraid of clipping if the feathers are still blood filled. How do I know? Is there a general age range that's pretty much a safe bet?

Thanks,
Debbi

 

[math ace]

I haven't clipped mine and they are almost a year old. I am contemplating in with a "wild" welsummer.

Here is "bump" so that someone can tell you what the "MIN." age is for clipping wings

 

[elmo]

The flight feathers are the first to come in, that's why chicks can fly so soon. Mine were able to fly a bit before the end of their first week! At 12 weeks old, I don't think you would have to worry about hitting a blood feather during a wing clip. With birds that have light colored feathers, you can sometimes see a dark line at the base of the feather shaft of a blood feather.

A wing clip might not solve your problem, though. Sometimes birds are still able to scramble and flutter over fences even with one or both wings clipped. And with a young bird, feathers can regrow quite fast so you'd have to watch and reclip as necessary.

Have you considered putting some netting over the top of your run? This would keep the birds in without the necessity for wing clipping and have the added benefit of keeping them safe from hawks getting them in their own pen.