How to clip wings to keep chickens from flying

In the life cycle of chickens, depending on the breed and the course of physiological cycles, sooner or later there comes a period when the qualities inherent in the bird begin to appear.

Nevertheless, some owners are worried by the fact that their feathered pets begin to fly for some time. And although this property is developed in them to a minimum degree, in the absence of attention to the livestock and failure to make a timely decision on whether or not to perform wing cutting, chickens can face problems with neighbors due to pecked and trampled crops or the loss of part of the herd.

Do I need to trim the wings of chickens: advantages and disadvantages of the procedure

The flying abilities of chickens are limited to a height of 1.5-2.5 m, but this is enough to flutter over the fence that limits the place where the birds are kept. Breeders argue among themselves about the advantages and disadvantages of wing clipping in chickens, since in addition to the described advantages, this procedure also has a number of negative effects. TO advantages performing the procedure include:

1. the calmness of the owner regarding the integrity of the crops;
2. exclusion of the possibility of birds getting on the site to neighbors or on the carriageway;
3. reducing the risk of losing some individuals, which occurs in the opposite case when they meet with pets in someone else's area.

As you can see, the advantages of performing this operation lie mostly in the sphere of the breeder's convenience, but do they contradict the physiological characteristics of the bird's life cycle? Unfortunately, the answer of experts to this question is partially in the affirmative, since it relies on a number of negative effects, associated with wing clipping in chickens, including:

1. Violation of the integrity of natural plumage affects hatching abilitybecause the trimmed flywheels provide flip-over and full heating. Reducing the length of these wing elements reduces the area covered by the hen during incubation and results in insufficient heat required for fetal development.
2. Despite the arguments of supporters of wing clipping, opponents of the operation emphasize that depriving the bird of the ability to take off to a height of about 2 m excludes the possibility of the bird getting to the chosen poles and nest locations... This in turn represents chicken stress situationwhich is highly likely will affect productivity individuals with clipped wings.
3. A decrease in the length of flight feathers, as observed by breeders, can have an effect on the molting process on the affected area of ​​the wings.

Note! Some owners practice manual feather pulling when the moult cycle fails after wing clipping. Farmers are advised to closely monitor the moulting process of the treated birds. If pathological features are identified during this physiological process, the pruning procedure should be repeated after the end of the molting season.

Despite the above disadvantages, a significant part of breeders practice wing clipping in chickens. Adherents of the opposite point of view should remember that refusing to carry out the procedure, the farmer will be forced to either limit the possibilities of flight for the bird, for example, by changing the conditions of its keeping, or build an additional fence, which is fraught with an increase in material costs and production costs.

How to properly trim wings for chickens

In order to reduce the likelihood of side effects, for example, the described violation of the molting process in chickens or provoking a stressful situation for the bird, which subsequently affects a decrease in the body's resistance and an increase in the number of diseases in the herd, it is critically important to perform the correct wing trimming procedure for chickens.

Required tools

For the operation, you should choose sharpened cutting tools, the contact time of which with the feathers of the bird is minimized. Among the most commonly used adaptations for the procedure, experienced breeders call:

1. secateurs;
2. scissors.

Important! Some farmers practice shortening the length of the poultry's primary flight wings, which are distinguished by their largest size, using a sharpened hatchet. In this case, the body of the bird is clamped between the breeder's leg and the deck, the wing is straightened and, within a few seconds, several blows are made with an ax wedge at a distance of about 6 cm from the edge of the flight feathers. Such performance of the procedure significantly minimizes the duration of the stressful situation for the bird, but its implementation requires some skill, which makes it difficult for beginners to use it.

Tips & Tricks

To reduce the stress in chickens when performing wing clipping, it is recommended that you follow the guidelines below regarding the stages of bird catching and the various stages of the procedure:

• Before undercutting the wings, you must move livestock to a special enclosure, in which, after choosing a bird, you must catch it by driving it into a corner. To facilitate this task, some breeders recommend the use of a box, which is then covered with the selected chicken after the shortest distance.

• To facilitate the capture of the desired chicken without creating a commotion, experts suggest distract her attention from her actions. This can be done, for example, by adding grain to the feeders.

Note! To avoid confusion, individuals with the performed operation should be isolated, separating them after the procedure to a previously prepared area, for example, a fenced-in pen or back to a chicken coop.

• After catching, it is recommended to spend some time required to calming the bird. For this you can use stroking.

You should know! If the actions of catching and further carrying out the procedure causes an overly violent reaction in the chicken, you can limit yourself to trimming the flight feathers on one wing. After such an operation, when trying to fly up, the chicken will fall to one side due to imbalance, which will exclude the possibility of its takeoff.

• After catching, you must firmly hold the chicken with your hands in the area under the breastbone, simultaneously pulling back the paws and holding the wings of the bird.

• To calm down too violent individuals, it is recommended after capture cover your head with a feathery cloth made of dense material... This measure will limit the bird's visibility and make the bird calmer during the operation.

Step-by-step instructions and a diagram of the correct trimming of wings in chickens

With the correct operation, the chicken does not experience any pain, since there are no sensitive cells and blood vessels in the cutting area.

The procedure includes the sequential execution of such actions as:

• preparation of the place of keeping chickens before cutting and moving the livestock there;
• preparation and, if necessary, sharpening of the selected cutting tool;
• selection of a bird for trimming flight feathers and its capture;
• calming the bird and, if necessary, covering it with a sheet of durable fabric;
• pressing the bird to the body, while expanding the wing to ensure its visibility in the light, which will exclude the possibility of causing pain to the chicken;

Note! The most experienced farmers are able to carry out the operation on their own, other breeders need help, while the task of the second person is to fix and firmly hold the feathers while shortening the length of the flight feathers.

• after fixing the bird and straightening the longest of the wing outlines, it is necessary to quickly trim / chop off the feathers at a distance of approximately 60 mm from their extreme part. Some breeders suggest aiming to eliminate half the length of the longest primary flight feathers.

Note! Cutting the wings eliminates pain because when shortening the first 10 feathers on one side, the farmer does not have to reach the so-called air ducts. To do this, you should not exceed the undercutting length, making it more than 6 cm; for orientation, you can look at the wing through the lumen, without reaching the site of localization of blood vessels during the procedure.

Before clipping the wings of chickens, the health status of each individual in the herd should be assessed, since, despite the absence of pain, the stressful situation associated with the procedure against the background of a weakened body can be fraught with further complications and even death of the bird.

Video: how to clip wings to chickens