A couple of months ago, due to various circumstances (breeding, disease and a raptor), we had a flock composition of two roosters and three hens. A predictable and unfortunate side-effect of this was that one hen recieved a bit too much luv', losing a lot of feathers on her back.
We acted quickly and - at least what we thought - intelligently by immediately selling off the youngest and by far feistiest rooster, and buying two new hens to "spead out" the matings of the remaining roo.
However, while the hen in question might not have dropped any more feathers, she's lost all the down who used to remain where the feathers had been, sporting a completely bare back. And we often see the rooster mate with her (it's spring here in Sweden, so he's probably more at it than usual).
Now we're considering buying a saddle to put on her. However, we're not sure it's a good thing. For all the pros of a saddle, I can think of several cons:
- The stress of putting it on. Our hens aren't used to being handled and she'll likely literally think she's about to be eaten when we catch her and put the saddle on.
- Discomfort. I doubt it feels very good to walk around with a piece of cloth wrapped around your torso 24/7 when you're a bird. And what about when the new quills grow out and start to rub against the inside of the saddle? Eugh!
- Poor hygiene. How is she supposed to clean herself on the body parts covered by the saddle?
- The other hens might bully her now that she's suddenly turned so weird looking.
- What if the saddle gets wet? Especially during sub-zero temps? She'll turn into a fluffy snowball!
So what do you all say? Are you all fans of the saddle, or would it be better to let nature run it's course and hope things settle by the next moult?
We acted quickly and - at least what we thought - intelligently by immediately selling off the youngest and by far feistiest rooster, and buying two new hens to "spead out" the matings of the remaining roo.
However, while the hen in question might not have dropped any more feathers, she's lost all the down who used to remain where the feathers had been, sporting a completely bare back. And we often see the rooster mate with her (it's spring here in Sweden, so he's probably more at it than usual).
Now we're considering buying a saddle to put on her. However, we're not sure it's a good thing. For all the pros of a saddle, I can think of several cons:
- The stress of putting it on. Our hens aren't used to being handled and she'll likely literally think she's about to be eaten when we catch her and put the saddle on.
- Discomfort. I doubt it feels very good to walk around with a piece of cloth wrapped around your torso 24/7 when you're a bird. And what about when the new quills grow out and start to rub against the inside of the saddle? Eugh!
- Poor hygiene. How is she supposed to clean herself on the body parts covered by the saddle?
- The other hens might bully her now that she's suddenly turned so weird looking.
- What if the saddle gets wet? Especially during sub-zero temps? She'll turn into a fluffy snowball!
So what do you all say? Are you all fans of the saddle, or would it be better to let nature run it's course and hope things settle by the next moult?
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