Has anyone used a chicken saddle on their Hens?

[m_shuman]

I have a hen that is getting a bald back, infront of her tail. She not only is the roosters favorite but the other hens are pulling her feathers out in this area and she is getting really bald. She is the only one out of my 7 girls that is bald anywhere. I was thinking about making a saddle to put on her. Has anyone used these before? How do they work? Will the other hens pick on her more because she is wearing it?

 

[TammyP]

I've used them.

They are easy to put on....but you need a second pair of hands to help hold the bird while you do it.

They have an elastic strap w/snap that goes around the top end of their wings and under the wing to snap onto the 'saddle' part. Kinda like a chicken bra...

If the wings are also getting bald then get the ones with the wing protectors. At first they might not like it on or might not be able to fly up on the roost as well (with the wing protectors one) but they'll get used to it.

It does help protect them quite a bit on their raw back/topside and will allow time for the new feathers to come back in....

The others don't seem to care or pay attention to the ones wearing them....in my experience anyhow.

~Tammy

 

[TammyP]

Quote:
I just noticed you said BEHIND her tail....like on her bum area? If this is correct then a chicken saddle won't help that area at all.....that's a different problem to address; perhaps a chicken diaper or something.....not sure...

The roo abuse is usually on the top/backside before the tail feathers and on the joint area of the wing.....

Here is a link to pics of chix w/saddles that was discussed in 2009:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=122916

~Tammy

 

[m_shuman]

I meant in front of her tail kind of between her wings. I will correct it in my original post.

 

[7L Farm]

Make sure you get the right size & the ones without the snaps.

 

[TammyP]

Quote:
Just wondering your view on snaps?? I have the snap ones and don't seem to have a problem.... thank you for your reply.... what other closures do they make?

~Tammy

 

[m_shuman]

Quote:
I am planning on making one. I sew and have all of the materials here. Why do you suggest one without snaps? If it is because of the shine I was going to use white snaps.

 

[7L Farm]

The snaps will wear out quick & you will loose your saddle. The saddle will fall off. No snaps are needed.

 

[ballfamilyfarm]

I know this thread is a little old but looking for some help. I've got 24 hens (22 barred rock, 2 RIR) and two BR roos. about half of my BR hens need saddles. I made one based off of the "hen saver" http://www.hensaver.com/ with the cross-over straps. It's 6-3/4" wide. I wanted to try it on before I made a lot of them. She was not into it AT ALL. I put her in it and it seemed like a good fit but she flipped, flopped and ran around backward till the back was flipped up near her head. She started jumping around again and big daddy roo saw it as something attacking her so he tried to attack it - which meant he was attacking her. I stepped it to stop him and he saw it as me attacking her so he was violently defending her from me. We all survived and after they had been in the dark 45 minutes later she was still fighting it so I took it off.

What went wrong? Any ideas? Do you think she was just a particularly stubborn one? I was wondering if the straps may have been too loose or too tight or if the cross over was freaking her out.
With cold weather here I really need to get the girls in some warm clothes but I don't want any of them getting killed over it. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[Louise's Country Closet]

In case you never found any answers, you could try putting it on her at night.. sometimes that helps to calm them down. If that doesn't work, try making the straps like we do (in my signature it will bring you to my site) that way might work better for you