If you pinion the cygnet’s wings, the swan will not have an option other than stay in your area because it cannot fly. Since you have several cygnets, regardless of whether you give them away, you must have them all pinioned between 1-3 weeks of age. To wait, is very hard on the bird and some do not survive the procedure at a later age.

Finally, once the wings are pinioned, the swan cannot fly so it cannot escape predators or a beating from the other swans. If you do not get this swan another mate, it will still be the odd man/female out and will be chased from the habitat, especially during the mating/nesting season. So, this means that even if the bird cannot fly, he/she may be chased from the area in such a manner that the bird walks or runs into areas rife with predators (wild and domestic, i.e.,foxes, dogs, cats, etc.). Not being able to fly is a tough plight for a swan that is constantly chased from the habitat by other swans and cannot enter or exit the water for preening, eating, bathing, etc. This constant stress can cause the bird to succumb to starvation, illness or disease. The Regal Swan