Wing clipping 11 week old chicks?

[Lisaloo01]

Hi there, I wonder if anyone might be able to advise us?
We have 3 x 11 week old chicks who are doing great. They are enclosed by a fence with their mum and aunties whilst we are not home, then they have free run of the garden.
We keep them in their enclosure (which is of a good size) as, on occasion, visitors (e.g. the postman!) leave the gate to the garden open, meaning that chickens are running all over the street - this is great fun for them but tiring catching them all again!!
The chicks have been roosting on the fence of their enclosure, by a combination of flying and hopping onto various things.

When is the soonest we could clip their wings? They have what look like fully developed wings and it is something we have done with our other ladies so we are reasonably trained!!

Any advice would be appreciated. The chicks have not escaped fully as they are still staying close to mum but, as they are into everything, I don't think it will be long!

Thanks

Lisa

 

[luvmy33chicks]

Instead of chasing them all you can teach them to come back to you.
Get a certain treat that is their favorite and shake it in plastic container before giving it to them.
Very soon they will figure out they are going to get something good.
After a few days when you shake the container they will come running.
I taught mine to do this so I dont have to round them up when they are free ranging our acre backyard.
Hope someone else can help about the wing clipping

 

[SteveBaz]

First off

Second is the learning center at the very top this is a great section to start in. Chicken 101 is there and other things your going to want to know about raising your little loveys. https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-wingclipping.html The main thing to be sure of when trimming the wing is "Blood Feathers" you need to inspect every feather that you will cut bc the blood feather is filled up with blood and by cutting this type of feather you can injure or kill the bird by bleeding out. The other thing about cutting wings is you need not cut both wings. Why? one wing if cut right they can not get lift and have to flap that wing extra hard to get any lift and the other one had great lift and they can not manage coordinating the feat of different speeds of different wings.

As far as rounding them up the post above me hit the nail right on the head. "Conditioning with FOOD" and there are step to do this.

1 find the foods they love best. Rice, Spaghetti, noodles, corn, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, grapes, melon oatsmeal ect.

2 start the conditioning by doing the same thing lets say at 8am and 4pm each. At 8am you walk out to the birds and at the gate ring a bike bell. (mine is on the gate and I walk in or around with it) or whatever, a shake a can with rocks or penny's in it. Walk over and sit down chair or ground but remember we are doing the exact thing every day. ring the bell again and start put a lot of treats on the ground and around you. Then while eating you will ring the bell a couple of time so they hear the bell before, up to the feeding and then at the feeding.

3 At 4 pm you are going to duplicate doing the very same thing.

4. Continue for the next few day like or up to a week. Alway ring the bell at the gate, siting down and feeding

5 next reduce the amount of feed thrown around to closer to you always closer. Now less food so they feel they need to get it first. urgency

6. next place some of the foods on your ankle, knee and lap and start baiting them to you so they know the hand that is feeding them. trust

7. continue for a few days luring them close to you so you can begin to touch tails and the backs of the your kids. Your doing good now creating trust.

8 if they will let you start stroking each or the ones that will let you the ones that do not no pressure they will or will not come on there own.

9 Great job!! because the next time they are in the yard ring the bell for the first time and guess what they will come running to where ever you are

Good luck to you.

 

[Fred's Hens]

My guidance is simply to make their run more secure especially when you are not home. Better confinement with improved fencing just seems a more prudent approach. Yes, they'll be a bit more confined, but there is a genuine safety issue here. I wouldn't want them run over or preyed upon in any way. You didn't say, but in most neighborhoods, you surely wouldn't want your chicks to be trespassers onto other's property, no?

 

[Time-Out]

I cut my 12 week-old cockerel's wing a couple of weeks ago. He was getting interested in what's over the wall.... 11 weeks, is definitely fine for doing it

 

[Lisaloo01]

Thankyou all for your replies, mostly Time-Out, just the advice we needed. No problems in rounding them up - shaking a plastic tub of dried mealworms always does the trick! Our neighbours are great and there are rarely any cars so we're lucky when they do escape but it's not ideal! Thanks again, wing clipping will commence tomorrow......