Chicken saddle - how long?

[ebonykawai]

How long do you leave a saddle on a hen? Does it stay on for days or do you take it off at night or...?

How, please? Thanks!

 

[ebonykawai]

Please, does anyone know how long it's OK to leave them on for? Do you have to check the hen/her feathers/skin often? Any chance of allergic reaction or irritation under the saddle?

 

[tabbie]

Great question that I'd love an answer to too-so, here's a bump.

 

[ebonykawai]

Hard to believe no one knows the answer to this. Doesn't anyone use saddles??

 

[hatchaholic]

Sorry...I don't. Hope someone else can answer...

 

[chickflick]

I wouldn't take it off at night. They have to get use to it. Leave it on till you see that their feathers are growing back in. If the roosters continue to mate and pull their feathers out, you have to decide on what you want...naked chickens or less/no roosters.

 

[highmountainchick]

Hope this helps..If I remember correctly, I read an article in the BYC bi-monthly magazine several months ago that a lady used her husbands very expensive duct tape to make a saddle for her hens. I beleive that she left the tape saddle on until it actually ( or mostly) fell off teh hens. By then the new feathers were growing in and the area of skin was healed. I was actually thinking about doing the same as I have a few hens that are scratched up quite a bit. I would use a gaffers duct tape or a black duct tape first. Weird but I sounds like it would work.

 

[ebonykawai]

Hmmmm. Interesting! Thank you!

 

[FireflyRetreat]

Great question that I'd love an answer to too-so, here's a bump.

Once you have a hen that’s losing too many feathers, it’s probably time for a chicken saddle. It’s easy to put a saddle on a hen because the elastic just slips over her wings to keep it in place. This apron can be left on as long as necessary. (I’ve heard some people say they’ve left it on for a year!) One unfortunate fact about chickens is that with feather loss such as this, it often takes until the next molt for them to re-grow the damaged and missing feathers. Depending on the time of year, that could be a very long time in the waiting.