When to clip wings?

[Snipes]

How often do you have to clip duck wings? I assume every time they molt, but this is my first spring with ducks, so when do they usually go through that? I saw on another wing clipping thread that you should wait until they are pretty much filled in to clip them since growing feathers pose a greater risk of hitting a blood feather. Around what month should I start thinking about doing it?

 

[The Duck ABC's]

You can do that anytime, but I would let them have their fun. It is amazing to see them fly. Flying does not mean that they will leave you. Plus they need practice time, before they can really fly well. Enjoy this experience with them and then decide if it is better to have them clipped.

 

[Snipes]

Oh, I'm, in the city, so I'm worried more about a short flight veering into some neighbor's yard.......with a dog or something.

 

[Quacking]

Being that this is their first year, you can do it now, and then annually after they have finished growing in their feathers after a molt. Usually it happens in late summer or early fall. Something I do with my birds is alternate the wing clipped each year.