Chicken aprons

[sawilliams]

Or roosting saddles, whichever you prefer to call them.

Anyways I have 3 hens that are not to happy with me at the moment. I just put aprons on them tonight 2 have significant bald patches and the third not bald but significant feather damage.

I have 13 hens right now, 1 rooster, 3 guineas, in the coop and a few bantams and chicks in other pens. Anyways there use to be 15 hens and these girls all developed feather damage rather quickly once the rooster came of age, well others have no damage at all so I'm thinking it may just be either he prefers these 3 more or for some reason they just have weaker feathers that break easier, mixed breed coop but these three happen to all be EE.

Anyways I wasnt sure on the size so i ordered some online, large and medium. I put 2 in large and 1 in a medium becuase after doing the first 2 I got thinking the large might be to big for them. But I figure I'll just watch them closely tomorrow to see how they are doing and if I need to change any of them.

Do you think it's ok that only 3 have aprons on right now? Should they all have one or is it just ones with significant damage? I don't want it to be a flock issue. I figure if let them free range early tommorrow so they all have space to adjust to the new attire. In a few weeks the new chicks will go to the coop and a batch of eggs should be hatching so if we can make it through the hot summer sun my rooster will have more hens then he can handle for next year.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'd remove the rooster for a while until he matures more. You can put hens with him to be bred if necessary. Why stress the hens with saddles I always wonder?

 

[sawilliams]

I don't think it's so much over mating as it is just weak feathers otherwise I would imagine more then 3 of 13 would have damage. Eitherway someone will be stressed and 2 of the girls will need the extra protection from the sun till thier feathers full in anyways.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't think it's so much over mating as it is just weak feathers otherwise I would imagine more then 3 of 13 would have damage. Eitherway someone will be stressed and 2 of the girls will need the extra protection from the sun till thier feathers full in anyways.

Some rooster will breed only what is easy for him to catch, that's why some end up bare backed, and others don't. Your hens lay eggs, so I would think they should be less stressed, but it's your flock, and your choices.

 

[sawilliams]

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind.

 

[sawilliams]