Chicken Saddle Issues

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eggcamefirst

eggcamefirst

In the Brooder
9 Years
Mar 14, 2010
82
0
39
Piedmont Triad, NC
I have 6 hens that all have bare spots at the base of their tails (Our rooster has been a bit to "randy" lately ).

I bought some chicken saddles for them (appropriate sizes at that) and they don't care for them at the moment. I'm curious to see if anyone else has used chicken saddles and has had a similar experience. Do they eventually settle down?
 
My Orpington hens have all gotten accustomed to theirs. I am not seeing feather regrowth underneath though :(
 
Hello-- I just started using the Hen Saver saddles. They are great! It took a little bit for the girls to get used to having them on though. When I first put it on they acted like they were drunk! Stumbling, tipping forward, walking backwards, ect. After 10-15 minutes they were fine. I found that if you try to put one on while everybody is in the coop it upsets the rest of the flock to see one flopping around, they were pecking her and my too actually attacked her. So I put it on in the morning when I first let them out to avoid injury. I am absolutely going to order some more of them so that all my girls will have one on. My roo is extremely rough on them, he actually tore the skin really bad on one of my RRR. I have the double strap version since my hens are free ranging . I hope you have a good a luck as I have had with them.
 
I just put Hen Savers on my 3 girls tonight. I've got too many roos and not enough hens so they were getting bare backed. Roos are moving next weekend but I wanted something for them to wear in between so they didn't get any more damage. I have the backpack style and my hens acted as though nothing was different once I put them on. I'm hoping the hold up well.
 
I have 6 RIR hens. One is awful about feather picking. I've got the Hen Saver saddles on two of them and so far so good.
I have seen some new feather growth on one of them.

 
If your saddles are a kind that has elastic straps that go from in front of a wing underneath it to behind the wing, those can chafe some on the front of the wing just above the "wingpit".

A nice way to increase comfort is to splice in a bit of thin satin ribbon (like is sold in small rolls at fabric stores) right in that spot in the strap. Do leave some of the strap as elastic so the saddles stay on well.
 
I have one hen, the one with the worst bare and sun damaged back.... she will not tolerate any type of apron / saddle on her back, I have tried more than one, everyone else is fine with them, but not her.

So far, the "Hen Saver" is the most expensive and the most tolerated. But, the Hen Saver has a "notch" in the design just at the tail, and, my hens with the worst bare backs are also bare just above the tail, the Hen Saver Apron does not cover that important spot. I have seen some feather re-growth on some hens and not others. And, it certainly appears that they (at least some) will be apron wearers for life. I took them off the ones with feathers growing back in, and they immediately lost those new feathers to the rooster.

I have not tried the "apron" from MyPetChicken yet; but intend to next.

If I had time, I would try making some myself.
 
I just bought one off of eBay and it works great! When I first put it on her she huddled in the corner and wouldn't move for about an hour and the other hens were trying to attack the saddle. But 2 days later she acts like it isn't even there and the other hens ignore also. I had to do some modification on mine as I think they put the snaps at the wrong end, but it was an easy fix.
 
p.s. Silenasunshine -- Seeing that this was your first thread-- :welcome
I can tell you'll be a helpful contributor on BYC. :) And your avatar pegs you as a good photographer, too!
 

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