So two weekends ago we processed three of our roosters and let our 15 pullets (soon to be hens) roam free in the coop with the two roosters that are left. We didn’t want to do too much transitioning yet so we left their transitional brooder up and left the door open so they could come/go freely and feel more comfortable.
Today we took down their transitional brooder because 1) we thought that two weeks transition was good and 2) they are about to get their nesting boxes! I’m so EGGcited about fresh, organic eggs from chickens that I know have been well taken care of and that are enjoying a good life. Leghorn chickens (what our girls all are) can start laying at 16 weeks- which is this week 😁.
A couple days ago, I walk outside and see this- one of the girls up on the fence at the edge of the coop 🤦♀️. So, yesterday, I started researching how to clip their flight feathers. My Dad who formerly raised commercial size poultry farm advised me to clip only one wing so that they have a harder time flying. Today, we watched a few YouTube videos 😅 and went to clip some wings. One of the videos we watched (https://youtu.be/itjlbf309wM) Pete had suggested to clip half of your flock with the left wing and half the right wing. This is so that if your flock has a predator come near them and they try to escape, half go one way and the other half go the other way. So we did 8 with the left wing and 7 with the right wing. It doesn’t hurt them at all- it’s similar to trimming our toenails or hair. Except theirs won’t grow back usually unless they molt. We did not clip the feathers on our boys because they are quite large and are much less determined to try to fly than our girls are.
This was the first chicken that I clipped. I probably could’ve gone a little shorter but wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt her either. Just like trimming claws on a new dog, I exercised caution 😂. Our two older girls helped with catching and holding chickens during this operation and really wanted to try to clip the wings. I told them after they molt and we need to trim more wings then they will get their turns 🙂.
I will try to post the new nesting boxes info for you as soon as they’re finished- upcycling for the win! And of course try to share when we get our first eggs 🤩. Have you ever tried an organic egg versus regular? I can’t eat regular, commercial eggs but can eat organic so I’m looking forward to ours laying!
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Have a blessed night!