Clipping A Duck's Wings - ThriftyFun

We got what we thought were 3 baby Indian Runner ducks last spring only to discover that one of them is a crossbreed (Indian Runner/Muscovy). Unfortunately that means she can fly, making it impossible for us to let them run around the yard periodically as we had planned. We decided to take her to the vet and get a lesson in wing clipping so that we can do it at home and give her the freedom to hunt slugs with our other ducks.Advertisement

The toughest part of clipping her wings was actually securely holding her and extending her wings at the same time. She is big and very strong. :) Here are the step by step photos I took, along with some instructions.

Supplies:

• sharp scissors
• a second person (if possible)

Steps:

Note: Our vet is the person doing the wing clipping in the photos. We had him teach us, so that we could do it safely. Please seek the advice of your vet if you have any questions, to avoid injuring your duck.

1. Grab hold of the duck firmly, but not too tight. Extend the wing out from their body. Locate the primary "flight" feathers, which are the first 10 feathers (see diagram below).

2. You will be clipping the primary feathers, just below the covert feathers. DO NOT cut the covert feathers. Clipping above the covert feathers could result in you cutting a blood feather, which should always be avoided.
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3. Continue clipping until all 10 feathers have been done. Then repeat on the other wing. This process will need to be repeated after they molt in order to keep them grounded.

4. It is important to clip the same number of feathers on each side to maintain their balance. The amount you trim will affect the amount of lift that they might be able to achieve, meaning that the less feather you remove, the more lift they will have.