The urge to fly in chickens is minimally developed. However, from three months, chicks try to fly. Although the flight does not last long, there will be problems associated with it, for example, birds will run away from the yard and peck at vegetables in neighboring gardens. To protect yourself from inconvenience, you need to know how to clip the wings of chickens so that they do not fly.
Why and at what age to trim the wings
Chickens fly short and low. The maximum height that a bird can overcome is 2.5 meters. But this is enough to fly over the fence. The recorded flight of a bird lasted 13 seconds. These indicators are enough to overcome minor obstacles.
What threatens the farmer with a short-term chicken flight:
- damage to crops;
- troubles with neighbors due to chicken damage to vegetables;
- the bird may enter the roadway;
- the chicken can get lost;
- predator attack
To avoid problems, you need to clip the chickens’ wings.
Chickens
Laying hens and broilers are not always circumcised.
Meat breeds of chickens usually do not trumpet wing trimming. This is due to the fact that birds quickly gain weight and cannot physically fly higher than 30 centimeters from the ground.
Egg breeds are miniature and light. Therefore, in this case, trimming the chicken wings is necessary. The procedure is carried out on chickens that have changed plumage at least twice, and if their age is more than 15 weeks.
Rooster
Most of the villagers clip the wings of roosters. The male, being the leader of the herd, stays in his usual territory. Wings for him are a special element of courtship. If they are trimmed, the rooster may change its usual behavior.
How to trim correctly
How to properly cut chicken wings? The process is not easy and requires certain skills. There are no strict rules for caring for the bird during the procedure, but in order not to injure yourself, you need to know exactly how to trim the wings correctly. If a poultry farmer is new to this business, it is better to seek help from more experienced farmers.
Each poultry farmer has certain methods of trimming the wings of his chickens and roosters. The most common tools:
- scissors;
- secateur.
Some use an axe. The main thing is that the tool is sharply sharpened. The procedure will take some time, and the bird will receive minimal stress.
It is necessary to prepare the tool for pruning. You need to think about how to separate the birds that have undergone the procedure from those to whom it will be done.
Algorithm of the procedure:
- Catch a chicken. Chickens are nimble and timid. Therefore, before starting the manipulations, it is better to drive them behind the fence.
- Having pressed the bird to you as much as possible, it is necessary to straighten the wings. It is necessary to spread the wings so that there is a gap between the feathers. This will eliminate the possibility of injury to the laying hen.
- Trimming is done quickly and accurately at a distance of no more than 6 centimeters from the edge of the wing. Otherwise, you can damage blood vessels and sensitive areas. It is important not to harm.
- Cut the second wing according to the same scheme.
Tips and recommendations
What should be done to make the procedure quick and easy? You can use some tricks of experienced farmers:
- If you fill the feeders with grain in advance, all the livestock will go to the food. Then it will be easier to catch this or that individual without making too much noise.
- If the chicken is in an enclosure, you can corner it and cover it with a box. This will make the detention process much easier.
- After the arrest, you should not rush to start the procedure. The caught bird should be soothed with light stroking.
- If the individual breaks out, press it under the chest with both hands, holding the wings, remove the paws.
- If the hen is excited during the manipulation, and this threatens her with stress, it is recommended to cut off only one wing. So the laying hen will not fly away.
- If you cover the chicken’s head with a light-proof cloth, it will behave much more calmly. This will protect the farmer from injuries, and the laying hen from unnecessary stress.
- To deprive the bird of the ability to fly, you can trim only the first ten feathers.
Note ! It is important to perform the procedure only on healthy chickens that do not have health problems. A stressful situation can lead to the deterioration of health and even the death of a chicken.
Tangling the wings with the help of a beyka
Clipping the wings is an easy way to get rid of unwanted flights of domestic birds. But the procedure can lead to negative consequences:
- Violation of the hatching process. Laying hens warm the future offspring with the help of their body and flight feathers.
- If the poles and perches in the chicken coop are placed high, the hen simply will not be able to climb up there.
- Sometimes after circumcision, the natural shedding process is disturbed.
For these reasons, farmers have invented more humane methods of flight restriction. Experienced birders entangle the wings with a bait. This method is used both for chicks and for adults.
- A 1.5-centimeter-wide strip of baking paper or other strong material is taken.
- One end of the strip is tied around the joint of the wing.
- The other end is passed under the sternum of the laying hen and the joint of the second wing is tied.
Note ! Chicks do not feel any particular discomfort after banding, but adults may feel uncomfortable.
Scorching of wings in day-old chickens
If the farmer independently raises a new stock of chickens, he can use the method of burning the wings. The method is used only for chickens not older than 24 hours. In chickens older than a day after the procedure, severe bleeding begins, and the bird dies.
The meaning of the method is that a hot metal rod is applied to the extreme part of the wing. After cauterization, the flight feathers of adults will not have to be cut.