Finally tired of the chickens flying over their enclosure fence, the other day Matthew and I clipped their wings. Its not that I really mind so much if they are in the yard, I know they love going out there. However, I would mind quite a lot though if they got into the garden (protected only by a 2 foot fence) or if they got over one of our main fences and got hit by a car or eaten by the neighborhood cat killing dog (who resides just behind us). So really its for their safety that we decided to do this. I read up online and was a little intimidated by the stern warnings that if I cut too far down the feather I would cut into the blood supply and my chicken would quickly bleed to death. Yikes! I read that the "quick" of the feather should be visible, but I couldn't see it on either the light or dark colored birds. I didn't want to take a chance of going down too far, so when I was cutting I tried to play it safe and not cut too much. The chickens were really calm about it, surprisingly calm actually. None of them struggled or threw a fit at all. I knew all that love (and those treats) would pay off! Here are some pictures courtesy Killian. Scrappy getting a trim:
Chimmy's turn!
Here is a picture of Freckles lounging the next day, taking a sun bath. You can clearly see her straight clipped feathers:
I thought that the whole thing went rather well...until Scrappy flew over the fence the following night. Darn that bird, she is such a trouble maker. She is the smallest of all the chickens, and is always getting out - she is the one I found on the front porch a couple weeks ago! Nobody else made it over though, so the clipping might have worked. Its too early to tell, but I hope that they will stay put now!
Chimmy's turn!
Here is a picture of Freckles lounging the next day, taking a sun bath. You can clearly see her straight clipped feathers:
I thought that the whole thing went rather well...until Scrappy flew over the fence the following night. Darn that bird, she is such a trouble maker. She is the smallest of all the chickens, and is always getting out - she is the one I found on the front porch a couple weeks ago! Nobody else made it over though, so the clipping might have worked. Its too early to tell, but I hope that they will stay put now!