Well it's finally happened! One of my hens has a bald spot on her back from the rooster. I feel so bad for the poor thing. Not only have her feathers been pulled out but now it's cold enough to snow and she must be freezing!!!! There seems to be only 1 solution to this problem. I bought her a saddle.

No, not like for riding a horse! Although Mr Roo might not pull feathers if he had some stirrups to stick his claws through....but I digress. A chicken saddle is the same basic shape as a horse saddle, but it's made of fabric. 

Sort of like an apron for the chickens back. The feathers get a chance to grow in, and little miss hen stays just a tad warmer till they do. 

Chicken saddles work great in cases of over breeding or feather picking. Pictured above is Princess, a Mille Fluer D'Uccle wearing her saddle.

Chicken Saddles

As you can see a chicken saddle covers almost the hens whole back. It keeps the rooster from pulling her feathers out during mating and allows the feathers underneath to start to grow back.

The hen saddle has helped a bit. I probably just need more girls so Mr Roo won't spend as much time with the same one. Ohhh wait......YES! I need more chickens! lol

A chicken saddle can also help to protect a chickens back in case of injury. An open wound often attracts attention from the other chickens who will then peck at it. A saddle can hide  the wound from view as it is healing providing cover for it so the other chickens don't make it worse. 

Yes folks, I'm dressing up the chickens! Of course those of you that have met our resident princess 'kitten' Miss Maggie will tell you that I dress up all my pets. So why should chickens be any different?  Since I don't really have time to make a saddle right now, I am ordering them from Amazon!

Luckily premade chicken saddles are available in many colors and patterns. Hen saddles also come in 2 different sizes: standard and bantam! People also make chicken diapers...isn't that the craziest thing?

Ok, so I call them hen saddles, but they can also be put on a rooster during a bad molt.

I ordered a bunch of saddles. I have one bald backed hen and 2 more that are rapidly catching up. I'm sure they will look just dandy in their new attire....as I'm sure they've been feeling left out being the only ones without clothing and all. 😉
Stay warm!

Want to know more about chicken health and illnesses? Click here for my other posts on chicken health!

~Lisa

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I am not a veterinarian or other animal care professional nor do I claim to be. I am simply passing on information that has worked for me and my flock. This information is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical condition. Please see a vet if your chicken is ill. Click for my full disclaimer. 

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