Free Chicken Apron/Saddle Pattern

[Bogtown Chick]

I tried stitching up sunny too...but by the time I found her the flap was already contracting down and a taught stitch would just pull through the full thickness of her skin. Ouch. So we healed her up tertiary and let her granualate new tissue back in. I was amazed by her healing. 2 1/2 weeks or so for that mess. That's impressive to me.

Let me tell you about bringing in Hens!!! ugh. Bought a hen last fall and will never buy an adult bird again. Chicks or hatching eggs only for me. I've only just discovered lice and mites on a majority of my flock. I'm pretty sure that's where it came from. But I was using some oldish hay in nest boxes too...so it could be that. I know a smallish load of pests is normal..but gosh...I want my birds "normal" to be pest free I guess. What a mess. And that is my current project with the chickens.

I'll have to wait until spring to paint inside the coop when temps are right...but I could just kick myself for buying that bird, Im about 75% sure that's where this all came from.

Side tracked off the hen/saddle deal didn't I?! LOL.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Good to hear that. If that ever happens again I'll try that. I was for sure she was a goner so my husband put a shotgun to her

We are in MS, and in the county people shoot guns all the time and no one thinks anything of it!! That was our Christmas Eve. Thanks for responding! Just a few hours ago we had three chicken hawks attacking my chickens systematically. I had to run out in my underwear to save them!!!! My Ameraucana rooster lost a pile of feathers, and a hen has a bloody nose. Phew! I think they'll be alright! This country living is not for sissys. I'm freakin from Utah! We moved here two years ago. Thanks again! I'll be doing some more safety measures on our run today for sure!! Until then my chickens are in the house!

You'll want to check those birds that were attacked by the hawk. They can get small puncture wounds, impossible to see, and with the filth on that hawk's talons, it injects quite a load of bacteria into them. I've never been able to save one yet. Someone may have an idea on treating with a general antibiotic but I don't use them so I don't know.

I tried stitching up sunny too...but by the time I found her the flap was already contracting down and a taught stitch would just pull through the full thickness of her skin. Ouch. So we healed her up tertiary and let her granualate new tissue back in. I was amazed by her healing. 2 1/2 weeks or so for that mess. That's impressive to me.

Let me tell you about bringing in Hens!!! ugh. Bought a hen last fall and will never buy an adult bird again. Chicks or hatching eggs only for me. I've only just discovered lice and mites on a majority of my flock. I'm pretty sure that's where it came from. But I was using some oldish hay in nest boxes too...so it could be that. I know a smallish load of pests is normal..but gosh...I want my birds "normal" to be pest free I guess. What a mess. And that is my current project with the chickens.

I'll have to wait until spring to paint inside the coop when temps are right...but I could just kick myself for buying that bird, Im about 75% sure that's where this all came from.

Side tracked off the hen/saddle deal didn't I?! LOL.

You may have contracted those parasites through birds flying overhead. All they have to do is lose one at the time they're directly overhead and you have a problem. You may have to wait to clean and paint but you don't have to wait to treat. If you mix together equal parts sand, lime, and wood ashes it will give your birds an effective dust bath. You have to keep it dry though so someplace under a roof. It would be beneficial if you dusted each of your birds in turn. Put them in the dust bath and make sure you get some of that stuff everywhere under all their feathers. Then, if you don't see them using the dust bath, do it again about a week later. That should take care of the problem.

 

[Southchick]

I tried stitching up sunny too...but by the time I found her the flap was already contracting down and a taught stitch would just pull through the full thickness of her skin.  Ouch.  So we healed her up tertiary and let her granualate new tissue back in.  I was amazed by her healing.  2 1/2 weeks or so for that mess.  That's impressive to me. 

Let me tell you about bringing in Hens!!!  ugh.  Bought a hen last fall and will never buy an adult bird again.  Chicks or hatching eggs only for me.  I've only just discovered lice and mites on a majority of my flock.  I'm pretty sure that's where it came from. But I was using some oldish hay in nest boxes too...so it could be that.  I know a smallish load of pests is normal..but gosh...I want my birds "normal" to be pest free I guess.   What a mess.  And that is my current project with the chickens.  I'll have to wait until spring to paint inside the coop when temps are right...but I could just kick myself for buying that bird, Im about 75% sure that's where this all came from.

Side tracked off the hen/saddle deal didn't I?!  LOL.

Ha! Yes, agree about purchasing hens! I better dust mine just to be safe as well

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Lacy: I've got a covered run with wood ash and sand in a good sized metal basin. Ironically it's an old weber kettle that the legs broke off and I removed the grill obviously. LOL. It's been so cold here though that the birds generally have been cooped up until noon or so and sometimes they don't dust when it's REAL cold. Although I noticed they finally did some dusting yesterday. I sprinkle/dumped and swirled around some ash on a couple that I saw with those cooties yesterday again. They were all dusted last Saturday.
Will keep going at it until it's handled. I also got some Nu Stock on order and neem oil to keep things under control until spring comes and I can really tear that coop apart-cleaning and painting. If I'm still battling bugs here after a couple weeks, I'm not opposed to mixing in a little chemical if I can get this problem gone. They live a pretty natural life otherwise free ranging spring, summer, fall.

 

[lauranickerson]

I've got a few pairs of old ripped jeans. Do you think denim will work?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yep, it will work. Just hem the edges and go for it. I had to buy fabric when I made one as I have a white wyandotte cross and I didn't want to draw the attention of the other birds so I got white canvas.

 

[lauranickerson]

Awesome! I've got a few girls that need these. I got rid of my roosters, but they are still losing some feathers, so I'm suspecting my Pekin drake duck is going after them.

I wish there was a way to protect the back of their heads. They aren't bald, but my Comets under feathers are bright white compared to their red feathers on top, so she has a big white spot on the back of her head. :/

 

[Bogtown Chick]

The denim Is the perfect weight for these hen aprons. You might want to consider spraying it with scotch guard just to keep it from getting soaked if they are out in the elements. Denim doesn't air dry as well as other fabrics. My girls haven't needed their aprons since molting this fall. But laying season is upon us and the Rooster is dancing like crazy these days. I've got my aprons at the ready if we should need!

 

[lauranickerson]

Thank you for the suggestions! I will give that a try as soon as I have a free minute!

 

[polishcourt]

Thanks to this thread Baldy my favorite chicken has grown back most if her feathers after about 4 weeks with apron