Hi all, we have two gorgeous young shavers who are total houdinis...since they're way lighter than our big hefty Wyandotte, they can squeeze through any fence gap and flutter over every fence we've put up. They've got our big wild garden to free range in, but we don't want them getting out of the property (yesterday I fished one out of a feijoa tree down the road...) Instead of turning the garden into Fort Knox, wing clipping could be the answer, but I'm nervous about doing it right. What do you folks recommend? Attempting the DIY or a trip to the vet? Thanks :-)
You need to be a member of ooooby3 to add comments!
Replies
Success! Thanks so much, guys, the YouTube clip really helped. Ginger Ninja is sporting a lovely trimmed left wing :-)
We found shavers are so easy to handle that even for a bunny like me, clipping a wing while holding the bird is not hard. They also have such long feathers that you can give them a good shorten without risking any flesh and bone. Don't forget to clip the tip feathers as they are the ones that do the steering. And yes, just one wing.
Wing clipping is not that difficult and it does slow them down, though it doesn't stop them completely. We also found it helps to have two people, so that one can concentrate on holding them and the other on clipping. You only have to do one wing to unbalance them and in doubt cut off less rather than too much (I have a friend with a cockatoo that had half it's wing amputated by it's former owner!) I found there's quite a bit of good information if you have a search on the net. They'll probably become heavier and lazier and they may forget that they can get out when the new feathers grow, but you'll find out soon enough :-)
This youtube video shows how it's done. Definitely helps to have someone else hold the chicken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fobZbe8hSc
After they molt you'll need to do it again, but by then they might not be so interested in leaving.