Chicken wing clipping?

[Hillbilly]

Is it still ok to do this or now frowned upon?

Bel, Arry and Flat have now progressed from trying to drill their way out of the coop and have now discovered flying. Not only discovered it, but practicing with great gusto. On top of that they're also getting pretty cocky (excuse the pun) and when they escape, come and sit on the picnic bench outside the 'office' window and look in at me....flattered as I am that they should obviously have such an undying love for me that they cannot bear to be apart from me, I feel their flights now need to be tempered slightly. I would like thier wings clipped as our were years ago but a few comments have led me to believe that this is now frowned upon? I could put birdnetting/strawberry netting across top of the coop but as they are let out twice daily to range about, it seems kinda pointless...

End of anthropomorphic wittering...

[Shirley]

I've not heard that it's frowned upon to be honest... but then I've never asked...

personally I'd rather clip their wings rather than scoop up the roadkill should they decide to venture onto the road.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/guide.php? ... 20clipping

and... ooh this looks like an interesting site!! http://www.poultryscotland.co.uk/pictures/wingclip.html

HTH

[Hillbilly]

Thanks Shirley. I was hoping I had just run into an erroneous bunch of chicken lovers..

right then...here chicky chicky chicky....

[Martin]

I personally would never wing clip - I'd sooner find other ways of stopping them from straying - if you unbalance the bird by wing clipping they haven't got a hope in hell of escaping Charlie fox!
Many years ago we suffered badly from fox strikes - the bantams always escaped, because they were "wilder" than the commercial egg layers, and took to the air when the fox was about!

[Hillbilly]

Thats a fair point Martin but we're not bothered with foxes around here thankfully. Of course there may be the opportunist one but the chooks are locked up in a pretty secure main coop( its in two parts, one bit roofed and one bit not with a sturdy door seperating both areas) until mid morning and back in it again before dusk minimising attacks.

When we move we'll not clip but here, with neighbours - kind of have to..

[Millymollymandy]

I originally started with 3 foot high chicken wire fence but one of my girls learned to jump over it. We clipped one of her wings but it made not a blind bit of difference!

So we had to up the fence to about 6ft and now they stay inside it! Can you do something like that?

[Hillbilly]

We could yes but then that still doesnt solve the problem of them flying about when out of the coop..

[Hepsibah]

I clip my chicken's wings. pics here I clip because we had a few escape and be killed on nearby roads.

[nick]

we always clip the wings on new chooks to stop them from flying out of the coop. only occasionally have to reclip once they are used to the surrounds. they are locked up in a fox proof pen at night.

[Boots]

I run a lot of birds on my poultry range. And have a couple that fly the coop and pose no problem. They just hang around the feed bins and fluff about in the shed or the orchard...

BUT

I do not hesitate to clip wings if they venture anywhere near my vegies, which are in a separate yard. A stray bird in there can wipe out EVERYTHING in the blink of an eye.

...I have a feeling they have passed the word around, because I haven't had a visitor or needed to clip any wings in a looooong while...

[Hillbilly]

We clipped the little blighters an hour ago - and so far *touch wood* so good.... we've done both wings.. just to make sure 8)

Boots - if they ever went anywhere near my veg they would be in the pot faster than you could shout 'sage and onion stuffing'..

[glenniedragon]

......mmm I thought the theory was only to clip one wing as it was the imbalance that made it difficult for the chicken to fly?....I could be wrong...but I'm pretty sure that's the theory........

kind thoughts
Deb

[Stonehead]

We don't wing clip, but have the advantage of a very large roofed pen and lots of space outside that too. Some of our chickens also like to perch in the rafters of the chicken house, and while clipping them would stop that they probably wouldn't feel as safe or comfortable.

Wing clipping should be done to one wing only and you should use very sharp, heavy shears. You cut off the first 10 flight feathers of one wing, and this unbalances most chickens (some learn to adapt and fly quite well with one wing short).

You'll have to remember that come the moult, the feathers will grow back and will have to be clipped again. Also, some birds have problems moulting when their feathers are clipped, so you'll have to help by gently pulling out clipped feathers that won't shed.

Okay, now the how to...

The kit:

• Sharp, but round-nosed shears. You don't want to accidentally stab your chooks to death!
  An old towel or piece of blanket
  Pliers
  Cornflour
  Dressing/folded lint free and clean rag/good quality folded kitchen paper
  Humane dispatcher
  Iodine spray
  Low wattage light (you don't want to cook yourself and the chicken)
  An assistant who is comfortable with chickens and can handle a cockerel
  Sterilise your equipment and lay it out to hand on a sterile, flat surface

The method:

First, catch your chicken! This is usually best done at night while they're roosting - use a torch with a red filter to avoid disturbing them too much and take out one bird at a time. Pick the bird up by the legs, then support the breast with your other hand so that your palm is holding her weight and your fingers are stuck through the legs (helps stop them wriggling).

Your assistant should now wrap the towel around the chicken to stop it scratching you, but make sure they leave one wing free. Throughout al this, you should be making cooing/clucking sounds and reassuring the chicken that she's all right.

Spread the free wing out to display all the feathers, first looking for old clipped feather shafts. Gently but firmly pull out any that you find.

Your assistant should now turn the chicken backwards, supporting its head and neck. This will all you to see the underside of the feathers and with your light shining up from below the chicken, you will be able to see the feather shafts easily.

The feathers to be cut are the primary feathers, which are the longest ones towards the front of the wing. Checkthe feathers for new growth feathers by looking for blood in the feather shaft. Do NOT cut these feathers. If you do, the shaft will siphon blood out of the bird and it can bleed to death very quickly.

Feathers without blood are like hair and fingernails and are fine to cut. Use your sharp shears to cut away about 6cm of the feather, cutting each in line with the rest of the wing.

Keep making cooing/clucking sounds and gently talk to the chicken throughout to keep the bird calm.

When you have clipped all the feathers, put the shears down safely and securely, then have your assistant take the chicken back to the hen house. Unwrap the bird and put her back on the roost or the floor.

Then catch your next bird.

Now, the first aid...

If you cut a blood feather, you MUST immediately apply first aid. You will know if you've cut a blood feather as blood will go everywhere in a second or two.

Put the scissors down calmly and securely, then take the pliers and use them to pull the out the shaft of the bleeding blood feather. Your assistant MUST hold the bird firmly - the chicken will be in pain and trying to escape.

Pull the feather out in the direction in which it is growing. Dust the wound with cornflour to coagulate the blood and then firmly apply the dressing/rag/paper to the wound with mild pressure to stop the blood flow.

Now, how much does this chicken mean to you? If you have plenty of birds, it's not a show bird, or you're just pragmatic, then take your humane dispatcher and kill the bird quickly and cleanly. The first aid should have stopped the blood flow quickly enough that the bird was not slippery with blood, making it easier to dispatch.

On the other hand, if the chicken is a prize bird, you're a softy (and nothing wrong with that) or you have very few birds of a rare breed, you now have to get your bird to your vet or vice versa. Act quickly but calmly.

If the chicken suffers a minor nick during the clipping (ie little blood loss), then spray with iodine. If there is a noticeable bleed, but not copious bleeding, spray with iodine, dust with cornflour and then apply pressure until the bleeding stops. If it is a serious bleed, follow the advice given for a bleeding feather shaft.

If you've had the misfortune to cut a bird, then clean the area up thoroughly, disinfect it and do not resume clipping the other birds for at least 24 hours, unless you have somewhere else to do them. They will smell the blood and panic if you take them to the same place.

I hope this helps.

Stonehead

[Hillbilly]

Didn't see this until after we'd done it. Its ok though, I've clipped before but thanks.

[Stonehead]

Didn't see this until after we'd done it. Its ok though, I've clipped before but thanks.

No bother - I suspected you had done it before. But if there were other people who were considering it, I thought it might be useful for them to know how to do it.

And yes, people can just go out, grab a chook and lop the feathers off. Lots of people do and they get away with it most of the time.

However, I prefer the more considered approach - especially with valuable or rare breed birds.

Stonehead