Chicken saddles?

[Rick589]

We were unfortunate to get two boys with our six chicken flock and dealt with the two boys exuberance, until we recently were able to get rid of one them, by putting saddles on the hens. This is what the hens look like after removing them after about two months. Not sure it would have been worse to just let the hens go bare. Thoughts, opinions, scoldings!

 

[deidregood]

What did they look like before putting on the saddles?

 

[Rick589]

What did they look like before putting on the saddles?

The feathers across their lower back were thinning out from the roosters, a thin lighter line of missing feathers across the back just forward of the tails. Otherwise the feathers were in pretty good shape, unlike they are now after the saddles, they definitely were not destroyed all the way up their backs. I actually feel as though we've been torturing our hens.

 

[deidregood]

I own the same saddle as yours, so I know it’s stiff fabric. If you need to use saddles get something softer and lighter. That may help. Good luck!

 

[KarenChickMom]

We were unfortunate to get two boys with our six chicken flock and dealt with the two boys exuberance, until we recently were able to get rid of one them, by putting saddles on the hens. This is what the hens look like after removing them after about two months. Not sure it would have been worse to just let the hens go bare. Thoughts, opinions, scoldings!

I had the same thing happen. I watch d the rooster trying to get a grip on the saddle and it wasn't working. So he just keep trying until he pushed the saddle aside and mounted her really awkwardly. So then I checked under the saddle and found that her entire back was bare.
Now I think I'm going to try to make my own fleece saddles and see if that will work better.
Did you ever find a solution?

 

[Rick589]

I had the same thing happen. I watch d the rooster trying to get a grip on the saddle and it wasn't working. So he just keep trying until he pushed the saddle aside and mounted her really awkwardly. So then I checked under the saddle and found that her entire back was bare.
Now I think I'm going to try to make my own fleece saddles and see if that will work better.
Did you ever find a solution?

We managed to rehome the one rooster and after that we just took the saddles off, backs haven’t gotten any worse since. In fact, some of their down has been returning and their first molt isn’t due until this fall. Thanks for asking.