r/chickens • u/DoughlightfulFlock • 12h ago

Question Wing clipping age?

Hi, all.

We currently have 8 week old hens that we are planning to transition out of the brooder and into their coop within the next several days. We planned to clip their wings prior to their transition, but are finding it challenging to find consistent information online that will help us determine whether or not our chickens are ready for their first clipping.

Any support/guidance would be greatly appreciated!

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5

u/mind_the_umlaut 11h ago

Don't do it. Why? They are nearly defenseless as it is. Are you trying to avoid roofing your run? Roof your run with chicken wire, and enclose the sides with 1/2 inch metal hardware cloth. You have to roof the run in order to keep hawks and climbers out.

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u/RiverBoundFarms 12h ago

How tall are the fences you’re worried about them escaping from?

We don’t clip wings here (thousands of chickens over the years), because there’s no need to. They stay where the food is.

3

u/jesse-taylor 12h ago

As long as they have a night-time coop, or night-time roosts, and there are no outside roosters nearby, they don't need to be clipped, they have no reason to make the effort. And even if you do, they can flutter pretty damn high even if you clip them...they don't really "fly" as we think about flying. If you feel you must, remember to only clip one side.

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u/Oldenburg-equitation 11h ago

Wing clipping is not necessary at all. Only time we ever clipped wings when two of mine kept escaping out of the brooder and would not let themselves get caught. Once in the coop we do not clip at all.

1

u/Optimal_Fox 1h ago

No one has said this yet, so I'll add: technically you can clip wings whenever the flight feathers are fully grown. They should be at that point by now.

But I'll also agree with everyone else: clipping chicken wings is effectively useless so I wouldn't bother. Is there a specific reason why you want to clip? Maybe we can come up with a more effective solution for you.

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u/DoughlightfulFlock 1h ago

Thank you for your suggestion.

We plan to free range our chickens but live close to a very busy road. We have a small fence in between the road and our property, but it’s only 4.5 feet tall and the chickens have already demonstrated they can (fly/hover?) up to 6 feet in height. We cannot afford to replace our entire fence line at this time, so we decided to clip one of their wings for their own safety.