Wings

[mommacb]

I don't know anything about clipping wings- or whatever you call it... how do you do this? is it painful or harmful for chickens? help!

 

[Y N dottes]

i dont know how to do this, but i know it has to be done right or it can harm the chicken. a cousin told me that since the quill is like a straw, the blood could possibly run freely through it. not sure if thats true or not.....

 

[salt and pepper]

all you do is cut half of a couple of feathers on one wing. It does NOT hurt them though

good luck!

 

[Gallina Sarda]

This link was posted in "managing your flock". I haven't read it but maybe it will be helpful. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-clip-trim-the-wings-of-your-chicken-to-prevent-flight

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Have someone hold the bird and gently pull wing out. Look at the 10 feathers at the tip(should be the longest). Use VERY sharp, strong scissors and cut straight across at half of the feather. If you cut into the blood vessel, immediately grab that feather at the base where it attaches to the muscle and quickly pull it out. This should stop the bleeding. Only clip one wing per bird. Otherwise they will still be able to fly balanced. Note clipping one wing, they still can fly up about 4-6 feet high.

 

[mommacb]

thanks so much, this was super helpful!

 

[mommacb]

ps. what age should you do this?

 

[chickenbythesea]

i clipped mine two days ago and it was quite painless for the chicken. I didn't enjoy doing it but I had a houdinie. I watched a few youtube video's to get the idea of how it's done. It literally took me 2-3 minutes and most of that was in catching the silly thing. Hope it goes well for you

 

[felixferdinand]

I tried clipping one wing on a few of the girls, and 2 wings on the other half... but one of the one-wingers could still get over my 4' high fence. Once she was clipped on both wings, no more escapees. I tend to leave those 10 long feathers at the wing tip alone and cut half off the remaining (or base) of the feathers. I think they look better with the tip feathers.