Hen Saddles

I need some hen saddles badly. Where did you buy yours? What are good one or bad ones? What to not get? Helpful hints?

I made some myself and recently bought some from http://www.louisescountrycloset.com/hen-saddles/. They are smaller than the ones I made but are well made. I bought the 10 pack of medium for $40.50. Wish I had bought the large. One of my hens has been wearing one for some time and her feathers are not coming back. I'm trying the Feather Fixer feed from TWC to see if that helps.

A1momof3 said:

I need some hen saddles badly. Where did you buy yours? What are good one or bad ones? What to not get? Helpful hints?

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This is the first year I have used saddles. I got them from My Pet Chicken. I wanted heavy duty material and cross straps so they stay put well. My roos are much larger than the hens who are wearing them.They are also reversable so you get two colors to chose from. On other sites,there are decorative ones, ones with a V shaped cut outs at the back end so the hens can get to their oil gland, single strap and double strap. Google hen saddles or hen aprons and you will have plenty to choose from! Hope this helps.

pfields said:

I made some myself and recently bought some from http://www.louisescountrycloset.com/hen-saddles/.  They are smaller than the ones I made but are well made.  I bought the 10 pack of medium for $40.50.  Wish I had bought the large.  One of my hens has been wearing one for some time and her feathers are not coming back.  I'm trying the Feather Fixer feed from TWC to see if that helps.

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That is the site I was looking at because they are made in the USA. So it is mostly my RIR that need it I was thinking the med. ones will this e work or should I get the large ones.
I was hoping their feather would grow back but are you saying it hasn't helped with that? Have they molted yet?

justplainbatty said:

This is the first year I have used saddles. I got them from My Pet Chicken. I wanted heavy duty material and cross straps so they stay put well. My roos are much larger than the hens who are wearing them.They are also reversable so you get two colors to chose from. On other sites,there are decorative ones, ones with a V shaped cut outs at the back end so the hens can get to their oil gland, single strap and double strap. Google hen saddles or hen aprons and you will have plenty to choose from! Hope this helps.

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well it helps and confuses. Lol what are the beat options to get....v shaped? Single or doubled strap? I have never used them and want to choose what works best.

A1momof3 said:

That is the site I was looking at because they are made in the USA. So it is mostly my RIR that need it I was thinking the med. ones will this e work or should I get the large ones.
I was hoping their feather would grow back but are you saying it hasn't helped with that? Have they molted yet?
well it helps and confuses. Lol what are the beat options to get....v shaped? Single or doubled strap? I have never used them and want to choose what works best.

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I know! The only thing I worry about with the ones I got is whether or not they can get to the oil gland.I had a medium on my EE and her feathers were growing back but getting plucked by others as the saddle was about 2 inches from her tail. I took it off her for a few hours so she could pop the sheaths off and now she is wearing the next size up. It comes darn close to her tail. Will try to observe her preening or feather condition to decide if saddle is ok or too big.
If you know how to sew, there are patterns you can download and then you can experiment cheaper. I think there are even no sew patterns but I live in the middle of no where so by the time I drive to get everything, I might as well have one shipped to my door!

After reading about the oil glands I'm glad now I got the medium. One of my EE girls has learned how to take hers off. She removed it twice today. Some are getting feathers back but one isn't. Maybe it just takes time. I worry about the saddle getting wet when they free range and how long it takes to dry. We've had some damp weather here on the coast.

pfields said:

After reading about the oil glands I'm glad now I got the medium. One of my EE girls has learned how to take hers off. She removed it twice today. Some are getting feathers back but one isn't. Maybe it just takes time. I worry about the saddle getting wet when they free range and how long it takes to dry. We've had some damp weather here on the coast.

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I'll tell you what, the cross straps they can't get out of! One strap goes over the head from the left and then from the right making an x across their chest. Once they quit freaking and preen, their chest feathers will cover the straps and you can't tell they're even there.

justplainbatty said:

I'll tell you what, the cross straps they can't get out of! One strap goes over the head from the left and then from the right making an x across their chest. Once they quit freaking and preen, their chest feathers will cover the straps and you can't tell they're even there.

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Where do your buy the cross strap saddles?

pfields said:

Where do your buy the cross strap saddles?

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I guess it's me calling them cross strap idk why but the site calls them double strap. Go here:http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Diapers-and-Saddles/Chicken-Saddle-p764.aspx I got the camo/orange ones. I don't intend to use the orange side but I wanted camo especially for my white birds since I free range my birds.

Thank y'all this is great info. I do sew but I need them now and I just don't want to mess with it. Lol so it will be worth the money. I'm buying some tonight!