Hen Saddles & Overmating of Hens?

[ClareScifi]

Where do you buy the hen saddles? I need one.

My rooster was raised indoors, away from the hens. His StepMama nearly pecked him to death right after he hatched, so I had to rescue him. The StepMama still doesn't care for him, though she will allow him to co-exist peacefully in her presence now. That took a long while to achieve. But when he tries to mate with her, she lets him know in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, that that is not allowed.

Another young hen of mine is a Sebright Bantam, too small, and he hasn't tried to mount her, though he has chased her and done his strut dance by her, but I think he knows she is just too tiny.

Another young hen is about his size, but she doesn't seem interested in him. I have not seen him mate with her. He has done the strut dance at her side, though.

The third young hen is smaller than the one just mentioned, and she will submit to him every time, and just dusts off her feathers afterwards. She doesn't seem to mind mating with him. When he was mating with her the other day, their StepMama came up and tried to push him off her and pecked at him.

In my opinion, it is the hen who chooses the rooster, not the rooster who chooses the hen. I think my rooster would love to mate with all 4 of these girls, but only the one, the most submissive, allows it. She is also the smallest of the 3 normal-sized chickens, and maybe her smaller size is an advantage to the roo? She is easier for him to dominate, size-wise. I worry that he will overmate her. I think I will buy her a saddle. Do they come in various sizes and styles? Anyone know of some good links? She is on the small size, and will be 20 weeks old (5 months) next Tuesday.

Could I confine the roo for a few days at a time, so he doesn't wear her out, or would this tend to make him become frustrated, testy, and mean? If I can confine him, how often would he need to mate with her to stay happy and healthy? I have no idea about these things and can't seem to find any concrete answers...

Should I buy him more hens, in hopes some of them will be romantically interested in him? I worry about introducing disease to my flock this way, but I also worry about the one hen being overmated, and the rooster being unhappy if he can't mate her as frequently as he would like. Are there some breeds of hens that are more receptive to roosters than others?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tressa27884]

go to the 'everything else' section and look for "louise's' I bought mine from her and it's been an amazing thing.

 

[gryeyes]

I've used hen "shawls" before (sounds nicer than saddles!!) with great success. After the first few squawky moments of wearing the shawl - getting it on her so the straps fit right - and some walking backwards for a while, each hen has accepted her shawl and worn it 24 hours a day, sometimes for a couple of months. Feathers grew back underneath it. If it got too soiled, I would take it off and launder it, then put it back on the hen. The shawls are double-sided/lined, so that they're not flimsy and the material doesn't show dirt very much. Kind of a canvas, I think, or denim. I did have one frilly, lady's apron looking one, but it was too light, fluttering up sometimes and scaring the bejeebies out of the hen.

 

[Farm_Maven]

Contact lovemychix. She makes lovely saddles/aprons and her prices are very reasonable.

 

[craftymama86]

I actually made my first one this evening, before dark and the hen I put it had absolutely no problem with it. No funny walking or anything. Though it was a little challenging catching her first, lol. We have 3 LB hens and one LB rooster, we've kept them around b/c the hens have been laying well and we've been incubating some of their eggs instead of buying more (for eating purposes). Anyways, that rooster is a little rough when mounting and they're starting to look bare, one especially. I put the denim saddle on her first. I was surprised how well she took to it. I'll be making more.