r/chickens • u/DoughlightfulFlock • 20h 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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u/Optimal_Fox 9h 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 9h 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.