It had always seemed cruel to me, clipping a bird's wings. It represented a lack of freedom, captivity, forced domestication. Birds should be allowed to fly free and soar. This is what I thought.
And then I got chickens and realized that they wouldn't fly free and soar. They'd fly over the fence and get hit by a car, eaten by a dog or attacked by a cat. So, unless I wanted them to be confined to their coop, I needed to clip their wings.
I Googled "How to Clip a Chicken's Wing". The resulting images showed a calm chicken being held in her owner's lap while he made a perfect arch three inches from the tip of her wing.
For some reason the image made me a little faint.
Wouldn't it hurt the chicken?
It also made me a little envious.
How the heck did he catch his chicken? Mine take off running faster than an ostrich. In fact, there's a good possibility that they are part ostrich. They certainly bury their heads in their bedding often enough.
So I did what any new chicken mama would do. I called Sarah. She volunteered to come over and show me how it's done.
She wrangled Henrietta and handed her to me. Holding her soft little body next to my chest, Sarah expertly wielded her scissors while I tried not to look away.
Sure enough, it didn't bother Henrietta at all. And, after all three chickens were sporting their new, shorter wings, I let them out into the yard where they discovered the joy of eating slugs, earwigs and worms.
They were in chicken heaven.
Come visit me at Momtastic today where I'm talking about Joseph's heart-stoppingly terrifying announcement that he was going to sing a solo.
8 comments:
Wow - you are a brave chicken Mama! I'm so surprised that it didn't hurt them. Good for you getting it done!
Firstly, hubba hubba!
Secondly, chickens eat earwigs? I'm getting some!
Firstly, I knew either you or @M@MadWomanDiary:disqus
adWomanDiary would notice the other girls. I must give credit to new bras.
Secondly, they eat earwigs and slugs and ants and spiders. They're pest control who give you eggs. Win. Win.
You can't see my face in this picture. Suffice to say it was a portrait in horror.
LOL, those girls (chickens) will eat everything..crawling, flying, hopping...I love my chickens...now the question does that make the eggs a meat or veggie. LOL also don't get too comfortable, you still have to watch the gates, and cats hopping over fences. ;O)
Ack! I read an article about clipping wings a few month ago. I stopped after the part about accidentally drawing blood and needing to soak the injured wing in some solvent. I nearly vomited and passed out. My hens haven't tried to jump the fence. Yet. *fingers crossed* You are so brave- even if from afar. ;)
I make sure we hang out with them. :)
It was pretty gnarly. But...I think I'll be able to do it on my own next time. Without fainting.
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