Hats for chickens?

[ejctm]

I was wondering if anyone knows how I could get hold of a hat for my Polish chickens, to stop the other chickens pecking their heads raw. It might sound like a crazy request, but I thought, if there are chicken and duck daipers and saddles then someone must make hats!

I just want to protect their little heads from the constant abuse. Perhaps a bit like the hats that birds of prey wear in falconry, but without the eye blinkers.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You can put pinless peepers on the perpetrators (chicken blinders) as a last resort.

 

[ellenmg]

Did you ever find anything? I just got a new Polish girl and was thinking the same thing as her head seems to be a source of constant interest. I am thinking of crocheting or knitting something stretchy.... If it works out I will let you know.

 

[klantes]

Maybe search doll hats or miniature hats on Etsy?

 

[lilchick]

Trim the head feathers down especially around the eyes and they will be able to see and get away from those that peck at them.
I loved to tell the story of Bubbie who was a sweet docile polish rooster that got picked on alot.
I first tried a rubber band to pull his top knot up and he would just take his foot and scratch at his head till it came loose. I laughed when I pulled it up so tightly that he couldn't blink!
I finally just trimmed above his eyes and left a mohawk for him. He no longer got picked on the head area.

 

[dreamcatcherarabians]

Since I got my Polish chickens because of their cute wild hair do's, I wouldn't be cutting their feathers off. I'd be culling the bullies and replacing them with other chickens who are more docile. If I couldn't bring myself to cull the rest of the flock, then I'd separate the Polish from them and keep them separate.

 

[farmtotable]

I'm having the same problem with my Polish Rooster, Sean Paul (he's the one in my avatar). My alpha roo put him in his place late last year, which unfortunately involved ripping out most of his top feathers. He now has a quarter-sized bald patch. When the tiny pin feathers start growing in, whichever girl is roosted up next to him at night plucks them out. They're not bullying him or anything, they actually respect him a lot. He puts up with it for some reason. I need to figure out some way to protect his head until the feathers grow back. I'll try the pony tail/top knot suggestion, but has any one else found a hat or a scarf or anything? I'm not sure how to affix it to his head in a manner that won't affect his ability to eat or move. Has anyone else found anything that works? I don't want to isolate him for as long as it would take for the feathers to grow back, he is the main protector of my free range girls.

 

[dmichelek]

Yes, auntnancyblog.blogspot.com

 

[lilchick]

For picking try applying Vics Vaporub. Tastes terrible and stops pecking...

I use it on adult birds that need time to heal as well as turkey poults who love to pick at each other.

Especially at feeding time poults peck each others upper beak and cause it to bleed.

 

[Chic_girl]

For my last year in 4-H, I was given a gag gift of a little football helmet for my first Polish rooster! If it had fit him, I totally would have made him wear it for pictures!

On another note- This has been a constant problem in my mixed flock, and even led to the death of my Polish roos, so be careful. My hens are left alone, but they are feisty enough not to let the big girls get above themselves.
What I did, and it worked for a while, was to apply 'Rooster Booster' anti-pick lotion on my Polish's heads. It was a blue-purple paste that smelled like mustard and pine, and supposedly tasted horrible enough to prevent picking. It also turned my Polish rooster's heads blue, so if you show, you probably shouldn't use this! Also, for anyone who has this problem- make sure to observe your flock, and identify the culprits early, so you can seperate or cull if needed. My head-peckers were two of my Barred Rock hens. I still have the Rocks, even after they pecked both of my roosters to death...