Chooks - Clipping ChooK Wings

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Veggie Boy, Oct 29, 2003.

  1. Veggie Boy

    Veggie Boy Junior Member

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    I want to free range my chooks in various areas of the yard which already have 3 foot dog wire fences. I don't want the chooks to bolt and it is possible with full wings they could get a flap on into the next property as there are some banks not too far from the outside fence. Is it a normal/appropriate practice to clip wings and if so is it normal to do just 1.

    Also while I'm at it - the egg shells of my chooks are very weak at present. Is shell grit still the go for this.

    Thanks for comments.
     
  2. Chook Nut

    Chook Nut Junior Member

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    Hi Veggie,

    A lot of ppl will tell you to clip wings, but i believe it depends on your situation. I personally refuse to clip their wings and have had no flight problems with them. They like to roost quite high and its a lot easier for them to do so if they have wings. My last place had high fences except on one side and that was 3 foot and they were content to stay in their own yard.

    Only my rooster has got clipped wings(i bought him like that). The simple way to find out whether to clip or not is to see whether they get out or not. If they do get out hopefully they wont do too much damage to your neighbours garden :p

    Shell grit will help fix up your weak egg problem. I used to mix it in with their food but now just leave a container for them to help themselves. They seem to know when to take and are quite happy to eat it on its own.

    Cheers Dave

    ps. On a side note BFA(or the other Organic certification mob) wont classify eggs as organic if chooks have their wings clipped.
     
  3. d_donahoo

    d_donahoo Junior Member

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    hey folks.

    dave knows what he is talking about.

    we have clipped our australorps wings (it is best to only do one side...because that is the point...the unevenness of wing size means the birds can't get too high off the ground)...but that is because we are renting on a smallish block and the chooks are in a deep litter system - if they got out - the road isn's too far away and freedom exists through all fences (being a rental property fence maintenance isn't high on the agenda)...

    i find it interesting BFA won't classify eggs as organic from chooks with their wings clipped...i think once again a case of over stepping the mark...chooks are domestic animals and practices like wing clipping has gone on for centuries - it doesn't appear to impact of them in any significant way - that said - chooks roosting in trees seems sensible and safe to me- so in the right situation i won't be clipping wings!

    also - don't forget to crush shells and feed them back to your chooks...

    and a story.

    the other day was looking in on the new baby when i heard an almight thump against the window...it was a small kite who had flown in - not sure if he had his eye on the chooks - but sure had the wind taken out of him. i went out and he wandered around for 5 minutes - til some local magpies swooped in and cleasred him off!

    cheers

    dan
     
  4. aussiedreamer

    aussiedreamer New Member

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    Hi Dan,
    when feeding the egg shells back to the chooks do you cook them first? I was told to boil the shells, but I couldn't get an answer about whether this would cook the goodness out or not. KWIM?
    Could it be free range classification instead of organic? curious
    Linda
     
  5. JackieG

    JackieG Junior Member

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    ??? I was told not to feed them the egg shells back to them, so as not to encourage egg pecking......?

    While we are chatting about chookies what house scraps can they NOT eat? banana peels ( does it make them trip out??? etc )


    Thanks!
     
  6. Guest

    i once wwoofed with some folks who would bung their chook nut shells in the oven after baking something else as they believed that roasting them in this manner would make the calcium in the shells more available to the chooks. it also made grinding them up easier which is one way of alleviating the problem of encouraging egg eating. you can mix them in with their grain or put it in a separate container for them. for sure, giving chooks back sticky egg shells is an eggeating encouraging practice.
    haven't noticed chooks tripping on banana peels, but then i've never kept chooks on a slick surface, usually on more of a coarse straw mulch type of bedding where tripping isn't a problem. :D
    seriously though, chooks love banana's. they can even develop an appetite for the chopped up stems of suckers you remove as a matter of maintenance... they might baulk at coffe grounds or tea bags, but generally speaking they are very much omnivourous little beasties I think.
     

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