How to prevent chickens from escaping

Bird flu has been confirmed on a farm in Oxfordshire: chickens tested positive for the disease yesterday

published 12 June 2009

The chickens in the film Chicken Run created by Nick Park, the maestro behind Wallace and Gromit could not escape because they couldn’t fly. For many of the heavier breeds like Brahmas, Buff Orpington and other meat birds this is true. However, most bantams and many of the lighter breeds of chicken can fly well enough to clear a gate and escape from their run into your garden, onto the road or wherever you least want them to be. Many of these escapees end up prey to foxes. To stop poultry flying is very easy: 1. Catch the bird and hold its head gently tucked under your arm so that it relaxes. 2. Spread out a wing and by gently folding the feathers you will find where the wing bone finishes. Now with a pair of strong scissors cut all along the wing an inch below the bone. It is completely painless to the chicken. 3. Only cut the wing on one side. This makes flying harder as when it tries to take off it is unbalanced. 4. Gently place the chicken back in the run.

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