Should i clip my chickens wings

Ask an Expert. Thank you for joining our mailing list! All Rights Reserved. Menu 0. Continue Shopping Your Cart is Empty. Ask for assistance! It is egg-stremely helpful and safer to have someone hold the chicken while you trim or vice versa as your feathered friend is apt to be wiggly. Which feathers should you trim? You want to trim the primary flight feathers. The primary flight feathers are the longest feathers at the front of the wing.

Chickens typically have ten of them and they are often a different color. See the image below - a great guide as to where to clip! Trim only one wing!

When the next moulting season rolls around, your feathered friend will grow a whole new set of flight feathers! Sources and further reading. Have a peck at the top 5 chicken health products I use to keep my hens happy and healthy. Chickens tend to follow the leader, so if one bird flies out, the rest are likely to try it. The earlier you can catch the first few fence-flyers and retrain them, the better. If your chickens do not fall into any of the above categories — completely enclosed including a roof, not enclosed at all, unable to or uninterested in flying, or trained to stay in the pen — then you may need to consider clipping their wings.

If it is critical that your birds do not get out of their pen, because of possible predation, proximity to vehicle traffic, or other potential issues. In those scenarios, clipping is probably the best choice for your flock. When wings must be clipped, it is crucial to do it correctly. Similar to trimming human fingernails, cutting the outer edges is harmless but cutting into the part where blood is flowing causes pain. Most sources say to clip only one wing, causing an uneven dynamic which prevents the bird from achieving liftoff.

This works well on my homestead. The flight feathers are the ones at the ends of the wings, visible when the wing is spread open. The quills the rigid tubes down the center of wing feathers are white or clear. This is an important distinction from other feathers which have dark-colored quills and can bleed heavily if you cut them. They're longer than any of the other feathers and there are usually ten of them. Holding your chicken firmly but kindly! Some people suggest using the left wing but I haven't found it makes any difference.

Just before the ten long feathers you'll see one shorter one. It's at that point you need to start clipping outwards towards the end of the wing - not back towards the body. You'll see a row of shorter feathers a few inches above the flight feathers. That's the length you need to clip the flight feathers back to. Clip to just below those feathers, don't cut into them. Bear in mind that you will need to re-do this after your chickens have moulted - after a moult, their wing feathers will grow back.

The only thing to go wrong is if you cut 'blood feathers' - feathers which have a blood supply. They're easy to see - they're shorter than the primary flight feathers and the shaft, or quill, is dark rather than white. Keep an eye out for them. If by some chance you do clip the wrong feathers you'll hit a blood supply and the chicken will bleed.

A lot. If that happens, it's not difficult to manage. Just don't panic because if you do, so will your chicken. Her blood pressure will go up and she'll bleed even more.

Get some cornflour cornstarch in the US dip the wing in it and then apply a bit of pressure to the tip. The flour acts as a coagulant and the bleeding should stop. If you don't have corn starch, a bar of soap will do at a push.

Rub the tip of the wing in it, pinch it and again, the soap will act as a coagulant. It's not cheap, but it's amazing for almost miracle healing of any kind of wound in a chicken. We also use it for our dogs when necessary. When I made my video, several years ago now, I used kitchen scissors to clip my chickens' wings.

Since then, I've graduated to buying a pair of good quality nail clippers which I keep specifically for the purpose. When done properly, wing clipping is painless. Secondary wing feathers, which are located behind the primaries, are not routinely clipped. There are ten primary wing feathers as shown below fully extended. Some chickens find the grass greener on the other side of any place they are, but there are times when it is necessary to confine them for their own safety busy road, dogs next door, etc or to preserve a garden.

Newly emerging feathers have a vein-filled shaft that will bleed if cut or injured. Avoid cutting any of these pin feathers during wing clipping.

For maximum safety and efficiency, a partner should be roped into helping with wing clipping.