Hello chicken keepers!
It’s not something a lot of people think about - but chooks have wings for a reason! Look at these girls fly:
While they’re a joy to watch, flighty chooks can be a real headache for the backyard keeper. They can break into your precious veggie patch (or worse, the flower garden!) and cause absolute havoc. The more adventurous chooks in your flock might even be tempted to go exploring the neighbourhood in search of scratch. Talk about free-ranging! Here’s how to help those flappy girls:
- Clipping the flight feathers on one wing to makes it more difficult for them to manoeuvre, or even get off the ground. Wing clipping is super easy and perfectly harmless if done correctly.
- Building a high fence is a great, but extremely expensive option. For chook containment on a budget, invest in some poultry fencing. This lets you keep the girls in one area, while giving them plenty of space to peck and scratch. An electric poultry fencing will also help keep chicken coop predators at bay.
- Some chooks just can’t be stopped! Bantams are often especially talented flyers and can jet over even high obstacles. If wing clipping and poultry fencing isn’t cutting it, you may need to give your chooks a secure and spacious chicken run.
Finally, you might want to look at some less flighty breeds, like Isa Browns or Australorps - these chubby chooks won’t get to flapping as often, or as effectively as their slimmer cousins.
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Feathers Forever,
Kassandra x
