Clipping Wings

We do not make it a practice to trim our chicken's wings. Most of the time, it is unnecessary. Unlike our ducks, (especially the mallards) our chickens are unlikely to fly out of their pen. From time to time, though, a chicken will get it into their heads to seek freedom and will fly the coop, quite literally. When this occurs, it is a simple matter to lure them back to home. And having done so, that is usually the end of the matter. Usually.

Occasionally, a chicken will become a "repeat offender" This is a problem for the chicken. They could get injured escaping. They could get harmed by a predator. They could become lost. This could become a problem for us; for all the reasons above and the complications these scenarios would cause and for the additional concern of losing eggs to eat and/or sell.

Sean learned to clip wing feathers on parrots, parakeets, and other avian species when he worked at a local pet store. He taught me the correct way to do this and avoid harming the birds or cutting myself. For me, it is sometimes easier to be see how to do something first hand. For those of you similarly inclined, I decided to video Sean clipping our young pullet, Winona's wings when it became necessary to hinder her repeated escapes.




Besides clipping wings of wandering chickens, Sean and I worked together for 6 hours mucking both goat stalls and the horse stall, installed a new floor in Jedi's stall and finished enclosing the interior sides of all the stall walls, and readied the front raised beds for the winter. And, of course, we spent lots of time with the goats. I took pictures, so you may look forward to seeing these posted later. For tonight, I am tired and ready to rest with Sean and eat my dinner.

Thanks for visiting today, friends.
Sean and Sonja