Dixie and Ginger

Poor Dixie! The other night, right before time to close them up in the coop, Dixie decided she was brave enough to try and fly out. My son and wife, who had just got back from swimming at the lake, saw her sitting on a fence post. Then she jumped and was FREE! My son, panicked, and wanted to scare her into flying back into the coop, and since my dog was right by him at the door, he yells, "Bella, go get her!" This was the moment my dog has been waiting for ever since we came home with chickens in a box. She bolted out and chased poor Dixie and got a hold of her in her mouth right before she managed to get back in the pen, either by herself, or by my son putting her back. She was okay, but limping. The next day she just sat all day huddling in a corner, and only getting up to limp away if I came close to her. I decided it was time to clip the wings of all of them before another one got out.

So, yesterday, my wife helped me hold them while I clipped their wings. I had taken a sponge out with me earlier because I had cleaned their water container. When my wife came out she freaked a little. I didn't quite understand until she explained she saw the sponge and thought it was for cleaning up the blood after clipping the wings. After we trimmed the wing tips, and she saw how it was painless to the chickens, she relaxed, not realizing what a simple procedure that was going to be. So, all the chickens, (except for Cluckers - I felt he was too small still to trim his wings - hope that's not going to be a mistake,) have their wings trimmed.

Now, Ginger, I just wanted to add, is getting black feathers on her tail and her wings. I tried to get a picture, but this was the best I could do.