[emotion-2003]

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

[bantam novice]

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.

[TeaPots]

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.

[hillfooter]

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