Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: bulliesrus on January 05, 2011, 10:52
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??? Hi, I am new chicken keeper, my son bought me 3 chicks for Christmas, who are now called Blondie, Goldie and Frankie. :lol:
They are just 3 weeks old and are doing really well, they have just started to flap and fly in there bed, very funny.
They will be going outside and will have some space to forrage, but the last thing I need is for them to dissapear over my neighbours fence, so at what age do you clip the wings and which feathers have to be done.
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Jackie :D
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I've haven't had to clip my girls. They're surrounded by a 7ft fence and hve never attempted to get over it...yet!! The fly up the garden to me, but only at ground level. How high are your fences Jackie? And welcome to the world....the addictive world, of chicken keeping :) x
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:tongue2:Hi Carla and thanks, on one side they are 5ft, and on the other side are 10ft conifers with netting about 4ft up from the bottom,.
I didnt really want to cut them so I think I will just have to wait and see how they go, as they are only 3wks old I dont have to worry just yet, I wont be putting them out until they are 6/8 wks old anyway, if that is the right time.
Regards Jackie
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Hi jackie
If you go onto you tube you will see how it is done. Easy to do and save them going into neighbours gardens.
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Thanks Josh, I will have a look. Jackie
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we did ours when we got them (on the advise from the hen welfare trust) it was dead easy. They have moulted since and I dont think I'm going to bother doing the, again unless they suddenly try to make a break for freedom!! :lol:
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Our first set of hens were clipped and they flew over the neighbours 3ft fence, the ones we have now aren't, if the notion took them they'd be able to fly over the fence but they don't ::)
Strange wee things chickens :lol:
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I clipped the wingsx of my crested legbars as they were rather 'flighty' and did actually disappear over the 6 foot fence into the neighbours vegetable patch..
Don't forget - you only do one wing on each bird!
Kym
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you clip the ends of the flight feathers about 7/8 of them
i clipped the first year but now they know where the food is so i won't bother this year unless they start to get flighty
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You won't be able to clip the feathers for some time yet as they will still be growing. Regardless of the height of your fence it would be advisable to clip wings. Some don't bother about flying and others do. I have a bird who used to fly up onto my head, very nice and all that but used to dig her claws in to get a grip!!, but clipped her wings and that stopped her. She has since had a full moult and unless she starts flying again I won't clip her again.
When you first put them outside if they are still small it is advisable to keep them in a covered run. Any birds of prey, Sparrowhawks and magpies would have an easy meal otherwise.
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If and when you eventually clip the wing feathers, only do ONE wing on each hen. The idea is to unbalance the hen. It doesn't stop them from trying to fly though.
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one of my hens has never tried to gert onto the 6ft fence, but does enjoy standing on the coops and on the piles of paving slabs of our yet to be made patio :)
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Ours fly up onto the coop roofs too and likes to sunbathe on top of the poots run ::)
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Our fence is about five feet high and the hens have never tried to fly over it. But they love to try and escape through the gate when we are opening and closing it. ::) ::)
Edit - we never clip our hens wings - some how even I know that it is not supposed to hurt it seems cruel.
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just done all 40 + of mine tonight and thats a lot of wings to clip!! but a lot easier than chasing 40 odd chickens around the allotment if they got over!! Which they do (thats a 6ft fence by the way!) not many but a few do.
i waited until they were all asleep then just pick them up 1 by 1, go down to the second set of feathers, they dont seem to mind and it stops them attacking the cabbages!!
::)
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I clipped the wingsx of my crested legbars as they were rather 'flighty' and did actually disappear over the 6 foot fence into the neighbours vegetable patch..
Don't forget - you only do one wing on each bird!
Kym
hi
i am wondering why you only clipped one wing of hens not both wing?
thanks
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Hello emotion2003,
welcome to the forum and the wacky world of henaholics! :)
As I understand it clipping one wing does not hurt the hen but unbalances them when they try to fly over a fence. If you clip both wings it is easier for them to fly.
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EUWWWW, what a horrid thought, 'wing clipping'...its just feather trimming! Trim the first 7 or 8 flight feathers of one wing only, they will be too unbalanced to fly, though it wont stop them from doing a hoppity-skippity climb up a wire fence ;)
I recently bought 5 POL hybrid hennypennies...the vendor had clipped ALL the wing feathers, almost to the bone!, on both wings. Stupid man-poor girls.
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It's a basic misconception of beginners that chickens are just aching to escape. Pet birds are kept in cages but chx quickly learn where home is and they can find safety and food so there's little desire to wander and when they do accidentally get out they desperately want to get back to rejoin the flock. So generally wing clipping is just unnecessary. I've kept hundreds of birds over a period of 10 years and never had to resort to wing clipping. I prefer they have full mobility to escape foxes when loose. Most chx are killed when confined in a run or house. They can often escape when they have space and can fly.
Do this as a last resort with flighty birds only.
HF