[chicken george25]

I have 4 bantam hens and am considering letting them out of there enclosure they havnt had there wings clipped tho. Should i let them out they have been in there enclosure 6 months so will they come back? ADVICE would be great and helpful

[Tony H]

The reason for clipping wings is to stop them jump/fly over your boundery fence, if your fence is high enough then you shouldnt need to clip wings if you have a low fence then for there safty yes i would  you only need to clip one wing as this will put them of balance when flapping, yes your chucks will come back good luck 

[4chooks]

Mine haven't got wings clipped and i let mine out in garden all the time.

If there happy and content they wont fly off, But maybe worth while just clipping wing at one side so incase they fly put them off balance and prevent it!!!

[Sassy]

To clip or not is a gamble whichever you choose to do. Once clipped should a fox get into their area it is harder for them to get away.

[GYO Girl]

Yes, let them out, they won't wander far (unless there's a gap in your boundary fence, in which case they'll find it and be in your neighbour's garden like a shot!)  But mine always come back for a handful of corn. 

I've trained mine to come back by saying "whassis?" (what's this?) every time I give them a handful of corn, so whenever they hear whassis, they come running out from their hiding places!

[joyfull]

I don't clip mine 

[VickyW]

I don't clip mine and let them into the garden. I always stay with them and they've never tried to fly off, but they do fly from one end of the garden to the other showing off 

[nic_28]

Ive not clipped my hens wings, and they are out roaming the fields and scratching under the hedgerows for beasties all day long, they wander off sometimes but Im at home all the time and shout "CHIKINZZZ!" they all come runnin back! I have no traffic near and no other houses so no fear of them being splatted by cars..maybe think about that if they were to escape. x P.S hens can jump...high.

[lmpd]

For me it's LAYDEEZ (ladies) and they appear from the undergrowth.........and give me a clue where they've been leaving their eggs!!! Bless 'um!!!

[banty]

I have three bantams (Orpingtons) which are let out in the garden regularly. They fly up and down a bit, especially when the are first let out but have never tried to escape. We did have a day time fox attack recently when all three were out in the middle of the day whilst we were watching them from the kitchen window. Two of them got away, Fox got one only to drop it when My Wife came hurtling out of kitchen. The hen the fox 'got' is being nursed now and still with us - however I am convinced the fact they could get airborn helped the other two escape.

[YoungChickenLover]

Some banties can be good flyers, so depending on what you have, I'd recommend clipping wings. As long as your gardn is secure, look forward to watching your chooks having fun!!
Weasel and The Chooks