Chicken Clipping

We spent a few minutes clipping wings this morning.  It is an insurance measure since we have been letting the girls out to forage in the yard after our big rain storm hit and they had been spending so much time standing around in the mud.  Since they love foraging out in the yard, I worry that they might try to get back in there even when they are closed in the run.  The vast majority of the roof of the run is covered in chicken wire but there are a few small spaces where the young ones might be able to get out.  Just in case, we clipped all of their wings except the girls who are still in molt.

I have posted a link on how to clip wings previously but this time we had the 10 year old take pictures.  This is something that can be done by one person but since Dave was available, I had him do the holding while I did the clipping.  It is easiest to do while sitting as your legs can support the chicken underneath while your hands can restrain the rest of the body.




Dave holding Hedwig.


Gabrielle.


Gabrielle's wing extended.  You can see the primary flight feathers are easy to distinguish.  They are those first six or so long feathers.


Simply trim the primary flight feathers back using a sharp pair of scissors.  This doesn't hurt the chicken at all.  Some people only clip one wing but I clip both as I have had birds figure out how to deal with only having one side clipped but none of them have been able to fly well with both sides clipped.


The finished wing.




When the bird is sitting or standing as they normally do with their wings folded, you can't tell that they have been clipped.  You only see the clipped feathers when they have their wings extended.

I feel that clipping wings makes our girls safer since they won't be able to fly out into the yard where the dogs would be waiting to eat them.  If your birds free-range, clipping wings may not be a great idea as you want them to be able to get away from any predators that they may encounter and having clipped wings will impeded their ability to get away.

Where is winter?

I know some of world is currently under siege by a massive storm but here in southern California we are having a heat wave.  It was already 74 at 9:30 this morning.  Truly depressing.  After living in Alaska, Wisconsin, and even northern Arizona, I really don't care for these California "winters".  We don't ever really get winter, just some brief periods of cooler weather.  Last year, my kids never even changed from wearing shorts to wearing pants unless we were on vacation somewhere it actually got cold.  The only thing I really like about all this warm weather is that I can garden year-round without ever having to do anything special to baby my plants.  Of course, sometimes my cool-weather plants don't get enough cool weather to fully mature.  Last year, my brussels sprouts started flowering before the sprouts even got to be eating size.  I'm hoping not to have a repeat of that this year though with the current weather, I'm not holding my breath!

I've still only planted half the garden.  I am hoping to find the inspiration to get the rest of the back garden planted this week.




My tall raised bed is currently hosting spinach and red onion.




One of the brussels sprouts plants that I am currently pinning all my hopes on (they are my very favorite veggie!)




I planted twice as much broccoli this year as we went through it very quickly last year.




The garlic came up much more quickly than last year and I planted it earlier in the season as well.




A flower from the trumpet vine that covers the top of the chicken run.




Just for fun, some gratuitous chicken pictures!

This Delaware is the only adult hen I have who has finished molting for the year.  She still isn't laying again though.  I am getting exactly zero eggs a day right now.  I hope they are resting up and will start again soon!




My other Delaware that is finishing with her molt and looks mostly normal:




One of the young pullets I got a month or so ago (this one is an Ancona).




The young girls hanging out on the roosting bar in the run with my Rhode Island Red who currently has a lot of bare patches from her molt.




Next post will be on trying to figure out how to winnow chaff from sunflower seeds.