Become An Insider On Clipping A Chickens Wings
Clipping a chickens wings is an owner’s way of saying “You can’t go anywhere.”
It is basically defined as the method of preventing those backyard chickens of yours to fly anywhere they want.
Some, who think that wing clipping is inhumane, and would rather see their chickens flying and wasting their time chasing them around the outside of the chicken pen like a deranged fool so as not to lose them.
But others, who do it, believe that it is more of an advantage than a disadvantage.
Clipping A Chickens Wings To Stop The Flying Over The Fence And Far Away
When it comes to clipping a chickens wings, one of the basic advantages of clipping is that if you keep your chickens in a free-range status.
You lessen the thought of worrying that your chickens will go flying around and say “Bon Voyage!”
If you wanted to keep your chickens inside their pen and make them lay those eggs, you have to adapt to certain measures no matter how brutal it seems.
Do You Clip Both Wings On A Chicken?
You only trim one of them…
You see, when clipping a chicken’s wings by trimming one of the chicken’s wing feathers, you cause an imbalance in the chicken itself.
If you clip both wings your chickens still have more of an advantage of flying higher than they would with only one wing clipped.
Feathers on wings when flapped cause pressure on the air forcing the air downwards, they get flight.
Or you could say ‘Lift Off’.
The solidness of the wing to push that air down is the science of it all, but if you have a wing where there is a gap for the air to go through.
The chicken is therefore unbalanced, and so you see…
Birdie does not get airborne and fly right over your fences.
How To Clip Your Chickens Wings
For those who agree with the idea of clipping and are fascinated on how to clip the wings of their chickens, don’t dare think that there is bloodshed involved because there is none.
Well, maybe just a little drop.
The only part that is needed is to clip some of the feathers.
Long primary feathers…
For first-timers at this, ask for assistance from someone who knows how because if you don’t, things might get messy between you and your chicken.
Clipping a chicken’s wings may be inconvenient and needs caution, but it is the best way to outsmart your chickens flying power.
See also So How Many Chickens Are There In The World Really?
If done correctly, you can take away the balance and flight coordination thus making them want to stay even if they are against it.
There are pointers to know on how to properly clip a chicken’s wings but first, you have to organise the things you’ll need.
- Sharp scissors with a rounded tip.
- Pliers
- Used towel
- First Aid Kit
- Your vet’s number
Procedure:
a. Look around you. Do you see a candidate?
Yes?
Time to catch her of him…
The perfect candidate for wind clipping is the chicken that has her wings growing very prominently.
Usually, these are the chickens you see who fly proudly above other birds.
Catch the bird by the feet.This is the most ideal way of getting her under your grasp.
But I just bend down and catch that chicken with both hands firmly grasped around their feathery bodies.
b. Hold the chicken by the legs and support the body by holding her underneath using the palm of your hands to stop her wriggling.
Use the towel to wrap it around your chicken’s body to avoid any unnecessary movements.
Leave either the left or the right part of their wings free.
c. Spread the wing displaying the entire feather section that needs cutting.
The feathers must be the primary ones.From the tip of the longest wing feather, estimate at least 5 inches then start cutting at that point with a pair of blunt-ended scissors…
Use very sharp scissors so that the process will not take so long for your chicken.
d. You know you’re done if you see that the clipped wings are already on the ground and the remaining ones are aligned in proportion.
In cases of mistakes, mistakes that made your chicken bleed a little, do not cut a lot of the feathers off, as you can always cut more.
But you do not want to injure your buddies do you, so it’s always better to air on caution and do a little at a time till you get confident with it.
That’s how I handled it when I first started.
It’s always easier if you have an extra pair of hands to hold the chicken, and then you can comfortably handle the chicken’s wing and cut without having to worry about wriggling chickens as well.
How High Can A Chicken Fly With Clipped Wings?
If you see that chicken trying to take off flapping their wings away, they cannot get up to the 6 feet status that they can generally fly with cut wing feathers.
See also Unlocking the Secrets Behind the Color of Your Chicken's Eggshell.
Yet your feathery pals can still jump and depending on the balance they can achieve, your chicken may be able to jump 3-4 feet in the air still!
Better believe it!
So, you will still need reasonably tall fences to ensure they don’t become escape artists.
How Often Should I Clip My Chickens Wings?“
It can be done at any age that your chickens feel the urge for serious flight, and it becomes a problem.
It must be done annually, after each moult because the feathers of your chickens will grow back.
Yes…
It is an annual thing.
But if your chickens do not feel the urge of flying over your fences, don’t do it.
I never needed to cut many of my chicken’s wing feathers, in fact not many at all.
It is usually the lighter breeds of chickens that seem to be more flighty.
When Should You Clip Chicken Wings?
You are looking at about five weeks of age.
Chickens start to flutter their wings and jump onto things at just a few weeks old.
You see, clipping their wing feathers won’t really help until they start to get their adult plumage, at about five weeks.
As downing feathers are not solid and can therefore not get that force of air under their wings.
Even then, you can’t really clip their feathers until they have stopped growing because growing feathers contain blood
Do Those Clipped Chicken Wings Grow Back?
As I mentioned previously…
They do, clipped chicken wing feathers do grow back but it will take some time.
Do I hear a sigh of relief?After the wing feathers have been clipped, you will have two options:
You can wait until the chicken moults and grows new feathers or…
Pluck the clipped feathers.As a plucked flight feather will grow back in about six to eight weeks.
But I am sensing as I feel…
That I do not want to be plucking out such a large feather from my pet chicken.
I would rather just clip them.
You will get confident at clipping your bird’s feathers, and it will not be any hassle for you as you become an expert chicken feather clipper.
Who knows…
You could do it as a sideline for other chicken owners who just don’t have the confidence to do it themselves, and there are those people out there.
Well…
Was it that hard to broach the subject of clipping a chickens wings?
I hope not, or if you are just not sure, I am going to put a video on here to give you more confidence.