welsh sarah Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 hi i recieved my eglu on tuesday and immediately rushed out to get my 2 chickens ( flo + mo ) they are fab and i love them already i have been sitting at the entrance feeding them off my hand and i am surprised how quickly they have become quite tame they let me stroke them i would love to let them out into the garden but i know they have not had their wings clipped, i have an apple tree in the garden but appart from that 5 foot fences all round am i safe to let them out and if so how long should i wait, i had planned on having the grand oppening on sunday, what do you think i amcompletely hopeless on the computer so please excuse me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Congratulations sarah, and welcome to the forum! I think wing clipping is a matter of preference. My first 4 were clipped when I got them, but I honestly don't think it makes much difference to a determined flyer! But once they know their own area and where food comes from, the only thing that will really get them airborne is a scare (oh, or food, or just a determination to escape - but those are much less common I think!). Just keep them well fed ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 They usually say keep the hens in the run for the first week so they get used to their surroundings then they'll know where to go back to roost, eat and drink. If you're worried about them not having their wings clipped, it's really easy (honestly!) and there's a guide on the Omlet website showing you how to do it - here Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 My six are all clipped but can jump quite high when they want to. However, they know where the treats come from and so seem to have no wish to escape. All you can do is keep an eye and review their security if need be. We have a 4 foot tall wire fence with another 2 foot of chicken wire on top of that, but this is mainly to try and prevent fox entry. My girls have never bothered trying to get into any of our trees, but that doesn't mean they never will. All you can do is be prepared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I was a chicken... I got the farmer to clip my girls when I bought them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentle1973 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 We got our three chickens on the Sunday and let them out on the Thursday and they were absolutely fine. We haven't had their wings clipped, as I didn't fancy doing it myself, and our local vet charges £20 a chicken to do it!!! They have never really tried to fly, occasionally they sort of "jump and flap" over each other, but never higher than about 2 feet - I'm not sure they even realise that they could fly if they wanted too . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh sarah Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 thanks for that was in such a hurry to get them home i forgot to ask the farmer to clip their wings i even forgot to ask how old they were, i did ring him back and he said they were 20 weeks so i should expect eggs any time. since they have arrived i have rushed home from work sat at the end of the run feeding them treats and talking to them i am sure the neighbours think i am mad my daughter even got out of bed and was feeding them by hand at 8am this morning. i think i should just go for it on sunday and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh sarah Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 forgot to say the girls are goldline which is a maran cross if that makes any sense to anyone does that make any difference to them free ranging the farmer ( omlet recomended in my area ) said these were the most docile and hardy but he could have told me anything i do not know any different. sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I think the goldlines are pretty similar to the omlet gingernuts. My GNRs don't get very high unless they have too (even then it's a very ungainly jump and glide - usually for food ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 My Pepperpot is the jumper in our garden. The other two tend to stay very much ground based . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menagerie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 They don't seem too inclined to escape to be honest. I was worried about our dodgy fences but they haven't tried to fly over them. They can jump about 3 foot onto the back of our bench but don't fly upwards much really - they tend to run/flap along the length of the garden, chasing each other. If you intend to keep an eye on them when they're out I would have thought that would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 My Omlet girls were wing clipped on arrival. The Omlet man let me do one chicken myself and it was really, really easy. Look at the Omlet website and it shows you how to do it. When 1 died, we got a new hen. And I still haven't clipped her wing yet. She is hillarious when she "flies" around the garden. She can get quite high but has not made it over my garden fences yet. If she does get more adventurous I will clip her wing myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
