Will the chickens come home?

[cwc362]

Quote:
No, It isn't dangerous- As long as you just cut the feathers . I think are some sites that will actually have a picture of how to do it. It may even be on this site somewhere. Maybe if somebody reading this thread can remember where it is , they can post a link. If I can find it I will post it for you. This is a method I've used forever and it works 99.9% of the time- at least for me.

 

[cwc362]

Quote:
No, It isn't dangerous- As long as you just cut the feathers . I think are some sites that will actually have a picture of how to do it. It may even be on this site somewhere. Maybe if somebody reading this thread can remember where it is , they can post a link. If I can find it I will post it for you. This is a method I've used forever and it works 99.9% of the time- at least for me.

Okay MamaJohnson-- I found it and here it is- https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-wingclipping.html

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
That's really the best way. It keeps them safe from potential predators, too.

You do want to make sure that your chickens know where "home" is. Once you introduce them to their coop, keep them "cooped up" for about a week so that they are forced to use the roosts, etc., to sleep. Since chickens are creatures of habit, you can let them out afterward and they will return to their coop to roost at night.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here is a link to wing clipping in the learning center.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-wingclipping.html

You would be amazed at what a chicken can do when motivated, even with wings clipped, but this slows them down a lot. You have to wait until the feathers stop growing and clip again after they molt. If you wait until the feathers stop growing, it will not hurt.

I see you are new here. Welcome. You will meet some nice people here and learn a lot. A couple of suggestions. First, it helps answer questions sometimes if people know where you are from. For example, the answer to a coop question might be different for someone in Houston Texas than Inverness Scotland. You can show your location in setting up your profile.

The other is that there is already a lot of good information here. When you post a question, the answers you get will depend on who sees it. You might get lucky and you might not. I suggest going to the Learning Center at the top of the home page to this site and seeing what is there. You can also play with the search feature. That can be discouraging at times but a lot of times, you can hit a gold mine.

I'm not criticizing. It took me a while to learn this. So, again. Welcome. Meet new people. Chat, learn, and by all means, post your experience, good and bad, so we can all continue to learn.

 

[natalie1136]

If they have been there a while then they will probably come early evening to roost in their own coop. We let our chickens out to free range every day and they go inside every night to roost. At first we had to show them the door though. Hopefully yours will catch on to that.

Natalie

 

[MamaJohnson]

Awesome!! You all give me hope! Is it silly? I think they will be happier getting "out" once in a while - I know I am! What is meant by the "you may have to help them molt" though - what's involved in that?

 

[ScoobyRoo]

My experience with wing clipping did not work on one of my leghorns. When I'm gone they stay in their run and my fence is 8ft tall. I had one that would fly out. I clipped one wing and the little sh*t could still fly out.

The last several months it has not tried. I would definitely still do it though. You will have fun with your chicks!

BYW MamaJohnson