Wing clipping...yay or nay

[theoldchick]

Pick a large breed chicken that are simply to heavy to fly far. Stay away from the game breeds as they can fly purty darn good. Bantams can get some good air time, too.

 

[Mckennas poultry]

Yea, all chicken breeds can fly, when they’re young pullets. I’ve always seen my young hens fly, then when they grow up they can’t.
I wasn’t being specific on “only bantams can fly” because I have a leghorn that used to fly as a young pullet, I haven’t seen her fly since

 

[Mckennas poultry]

Not true! I recently picked up some GEM's, when in the flock they started practicing flight. When they hit 25 feet up, ya near the tree tops, I said enuf is enuf and clipped a wing. I could see them in my mind flying away and not making it home!

An EE I was given, poor dear her wings were clipped to nubs (this also damages body feathers and even skin), she could jump 8 feet straight up, ya with those nubs! Once she molted I had no issues with her, and she looked so much better.

I only clip 1 wing, always the right wing, and only the light flight tips of those who go over the fences (cept for those GEMs, they did not go over the fence, but turned and went to the other side of the house/yard, still,,,). This throws them off balance, yet they can still use them to get away from bad things. I find this is only needed on young birds (not chicks maybe 4 months to molt), once they have molted and these feathers are replaced, it has not been needed again. Maybe they just need to know where their boundaries are.
Birds that continue bad behavior are re-homed to someone that completely confines them in a covered run.

Chickens don’t usually “fly away” chickens can imprint to your property from the very first day, the only reason they would “fly away” is if you chased them with a stick while pocking them in the air out of your property. they cannot “fly away”; however, they can “fly over” objects such as fences if given the proper circumstances. By nature, chickens are flock birds with a hierarchy and will stay close to their flock and coop,Thus ... and as you said they took for the trees, that’s even better than a coop. That’s how they naturally roost. Clipping their wings just makes them more vulnerable to predators

 

[RWise]

Well I have not seen them fly since, which is good as if they go outside the fences, they are then open to all kinds of predators. They can still fly enuf to avoid capture, which is why I say just lightly clip one wing.
I did not intend to say they would not come back, if they are still alive. Their odds of survival outside my fenced yard is near zero. Here I can defend them, out there, not a chance.

 

[thewatsonfarm]

If you are going to do it, clip only one side. That throws them off balance & they won't get too far.

I only had to do it once. I had a barred rock who was very smart & liked to explore. She flew over the fence twice into the yards of different neighbors. (It's weird to have to go to the neighbor's house to ask if you can retrieve your chicken from their yard.) The third time she tried, she got stuck in the jasmine. But at that point I knew I had to clip her because if she flew into the yard north of us, she'd have been eaten.

But aside from that one hen, none of the others we've had in 8+ years have ever tried to leave the yard. I think they know it's home and there are way better eats here in my garden than anywhere else.

 

[techbsmith]

Lots of opinions...mine is - I do not clip wings. My run and coop areas are completely enclosed/covered so there's no worry of escape. I do have a 10X10 dog kennel that's 6' tall that I let the girls into for some free ranging - we basically call it "Yard time for the prisoners" since they make such a fuss when I don't open the run and let them trot out to the kennel for all that yummy grass. I only let them in the kennel when I'm able to plop down inside with them, kicked back in a chair and watching for hawks.

We have a lot of hawks .. so, yard time has to be supervised..just like a prisoner!

 

[lazy gardener]

How big is your yard ? Chickens don’t stray too far, they usually have their own boundary. What breed of chicken ? Only bantams can fly

Pick a large breed chicken that are simply to heavy to fly far. Stay away from the game breeds as they can fly purty darn good. Bantams can get some good air time, too.

MANY breeds of chickens can fly well enough to clear a tall fence. And the more free range time they get, the farther they roam from home base.

I have an EE hen who can easily clear a 6' fence. I have no doubt that she will continue to be able to do so for the remainder of her life. Agreed with TOC, larger breeds are less likely to fly, yet, even with clipped wings, my determined birds can fly pretty high. Their perch is 3.5' off ground.

I do not clip wings, unless there is a gal with a behavior issue, like my EE hen. She is due for a clipping. She will fly to the top of my 6' high run to have a look see at what's going on up there.

In your situation, you might want to clip wings when your birds are first about 6 - 8 weeks old, and continue doing so as they go through their multiple "baby" molts. When clipped at a young age, they are less likely to attempt those "get in trouble" flights as they mature. Similar to the baby elephant who is tethered with a tiny rope as a baby. He learns that he can't break free, so stops continuing to try. As an adult the same flimsy rope will hold him secure.

 

[BantyChooks]

I free range now, but when I had to keep my birds in a run I clipped their wings. They can't fly well enough to escape predators even if left unclipped. Plus, if they're in a run (which is the only reason to clip their wings, really) you should be keeping predators out, not hoping they can fly far enough.

Large breed birds do fly, and quite well sometimes. I saw a Leghorn (~2 yrs old) stay airborne for about 150 feet. Dual purpose breeds sometimes only fly about 10 feet... but that's enough to clear a fence.

Also, I clip both wings. In terms of getting over fences, it's really the thrust that you have to eliminate, and that's best done by clipping as much of the feather as possible off. In my opinion, anyway. That's what stopped my bantams. If your birds are anything like mine, they don't stand back and fly completely over, they go up close, jump, and scramble over, using legs and wings and beak and everything at their disposal to grab the top and get themselves over.

As a side note, my perches are 3.8' off the ground, and birds with clipped wings still have no problem reaching them.

 

[Crzytrkr]

Nah if its a strong flyer it might get away from u but out in the real world only flying 20 or30yrds ain't gonna do it if it gets loose u want it to be able to use it's only defence flying other wise it could be dinner?
Good luck
Crzytrkr

 

[igorsMistress]

I don't clip, just careful about giving them anything close to the fenceline they can launch from to get up on the wall. No particular reason, they don't get out so no need to do it