Chicken bald back

[gillian.scott]

Hi, I recently got my first chickens, a silkie and 3 bantams (1 pekin and 2 booted).

 

I just wondered what poples experience is with bantams flying, have done lots of searching and get every result from they don't fly to they can and some quite well.

 

The 2 booteds are worrying me when out, I have a walled garden which must be a little over 7ft. One of the girls can easily get up to the height of the go up run and really only started to try in the last week, with practice will she get higher? The other spends time crouching and then run flapping but doesn't really get off the ground, she is trying thoug. Am I being too worried about this and they are likely to not make it over the wall or should I be clipping wings?

 

Thanks

[Beantree]

Silkies can't fly and perhaps that's where the confusion arises. Bantams are good flyers, particularly our Leghorns which can make any height given platforms to fly from and therefore must have a covered run. They would quite happily roost in the tops of trees. You will find (but not with Leghorns) that their flying ability diminishes when they come into lay, presumably the extra weight of eggs in progress?

 

We don't clip wings unless absolutely necessary Gillian, because it removes their primary defence. They may fly over walls, but would need a good reason to in our experience. If you do clip the wings it is only half way down the primaries on one wing. If you leave the first two end feathers uncut it results in a neater looking job.

[gillian.scott]

Thanks, this one certain seems to want to practice flying at the moment. They have a covered run for the day time so will look into something for something to cover more of the garden so she can still come out exploring with the others

[mullethunter]

One of my Pekins flew onto our 7 foot fence when she was about 16 weeks old so we clipped her wing and she doesn't really try any more.

[Cat tails]

Clipped the wings here as well. They were very flighty when little. But then again, I have no threat of foxes.