Wing Clipping

[AccentOnHakes]

When can I start clipping wings? I've also heard that right after a molt, there is still blood running to the feathers, so how long to wait until you can clip after a molt?

 

[MagsC]

I would like to know this too....

 

[alicefelldown]

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

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Quote:
That one only shows how to clip.

 

[alicefelldown]

Wait until you can no longer see the blood in the shaft of the feather. It's really on a bird-by-bird basis for that.

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Quote:
So when it looks clear?

 

[kcfuerst]

I'm amazed that after I clipped my pullets' wings, after 6 months, the wings have not grown back. Is this just a one time chore? It certainly has kept them in my own yard.

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Quote:
Well, they molts get less frequent as they age...or so BYC has told me.

 

[Whisper]

It's just like clipping a dog or cat's toenail. If it looks pink inside, don't cut. Once the feather is finished growing, it doesn't need a blood supply throughout the feather so it will become clear-ish looking on the inside of the main "stem."

The feathers will not regenerate until the next moult, when the whole trimmed feather will fall out and be replaced by a new whole feather.

(If you clip young birds, though, remember they have several small gradual moults as they mature, and might sneak in some new flight feathers somewhere around 5 months old.)

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Cool, you guys rock!