Will I have to clip her wings??

[lollimama]

I just took my little 7 week old EE's out one by one today for a little adventure in the yard...I had them sit on my lap for a few minutes and then set them down in the grass to see what they'd do. The first two behaved pretty well, they are always super skiddish but they didn't venture far. The third one hunkered down and then flew right up to the top of the fence! She was ready to hop into the neighbor's yard! This particular chicken has been a little rascal since we brought her home....getting her little head stuck in the chicken wire etc. She belongs to my middle son - so fitting Since day one these three have seemed super flighty but I thought they might calm down after a while...now I'm worried that we might have to clip their wings when we combine them with our older girls. I don't intend to do that for another month or so, but by then will they be heavier and less likely to fly over the fence? It's a fairly low fence, maybe about 3.5' high but we've NEVER had any of our older girls even attempt an escape. Ugh.

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

My chickens can fly out of their yard, they just chose not to, for the most part. As for the babies, I have one EE chick right now that every time I open the brooder, he jumps on the edge of the box and looks around. I think it's curiosity more than anything.

 

[Pele]

I would clip her wings right away for her own protection. I have an EE too in my flock, and that girl ends up on top of the coop even though she DOES have her wings clipped. Lord knows where she'd end up if she had full lift capacity.

Now my Gold Comets... they couldn't be bothered to try to fly anywhere, they're so busy begging for food

 

[crazyhen]

Never clip but one wing at a time. on one side. It thows their balance off. If two wings are clippedd they can still fly some. Gloria Jean

 

[triplepurpose]

Clipping is really easy, it doesn't hurt them, and it takes all of a few seconds. Here's directions: http://www.poultryhelp.com/wingclipping.html
I'd go for it too. Note though, that you'll have to do it several times while they are growing because the feathers will keep growing out as they mature. Once they are full grown, you only have to do it after each molt.