In the event you preserve yard chickens for eggs, it’s crucial to preserve them inside the mounted or moveable coop space that you’ve got arrange for them. This retains them secure from predators and prevents neighbors from getting aggravated!

What do you do when you have a resourceful hen who figures out how to fly the coop?

Clipping a Rooster’s Wing

When you have a number of chickens which might be getting free too typically, the fast and simple answer is to trim the feathers of 1 wing.

Clipping a hen’s wing is a fully painless course of very similar to trimming our hair or clipping the nails of a canine.

Why Solely One Wing?

The rationale you solely clip one wing is to unbalance the hen’s flight.

In the event you trim each wings, a hen with sturdy wings may nonetheless give you the option to get sufficient carry by flapping onerous sufficient to proceed to get free on a common foundation.

How Many Feathers to Trim?

Solely the ten longest “flight” feathers on one wing want to be trimmed to hamper a hen’s potential to fly. Some folks counsel trimming the left wing, however it actually doesn’t matter in my expertise.

Others counsel to trim outward, away from the hen’s physique, however I haven’t discovered this makes a lot distinction both.

The necessary factor is to merely trim the ten longest flight feathers at in regards to the midway level.

Be certain to use a very sharp pair of shears to do the job!

The video under demonstrates the fast and simple course of.

How Typically?

The method of clipping a hen’s wing solely wants to be performed about as soon as per yr after she molts and grows new feathers.

For younger chickens, you would want to do it at about six months of age however earlier than their first molt.

Does it Harm?

As talked about above, clipping the flight feathers is totally painless.

It retains the hen secure and retains your neighbors comfortable as a result of a free hen is certain to begin digging up no matter landscaping is shut by!

Does a Clipped Wing Look Ugly?

When you clip considered one of your hen’s wings, it gained’t present in any respect when she is strolling or operating round.

The flight feathers are tucked underneath the remainder of the wing close to the physique, so the trimmed feathers don’t even present.

You gained’t even give you the option to inform which hens have trimmed wings and which of them don’t!

Do You Want to Clip All Your Chickens Wings?

Some authorities counsel that you simply clip one wing of all of your chickens yearly after they develop new feathers.

I don’t do that. I solely clip the wing of chickens which might be flying the coop.

In any other case, why hassle to do it in the event that they aren’t getting free?

Video: How to Clip a Rooster’s Wing

The one minute video under reveals you the way easy it’s to clip a hen’s wing to preserve her secure all yr lengthy.

It really works for roosters too!

Do you’ve a number of yard chickens that preserve getting free? I hope this simple answer that solved the issue for me works for you too!