Chicken diaper GONE WRONG

[The Backyard Bantams]

So i wanted to bring my chicken inside for fun....so i spent the last hour measuring her and sewing a diaper. I came outside, gave her a treat, sat her up on top of the coop. I slipped the elastic around her neck. It was hanging very loosely, so it couldn’t have been hurting her. I was trying to put the elastic around her tail hen she suddenly went CRAZY. Now, she has flapped and squawked before, but I had NEVER seen this before. She squawked and screamed AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS. She flapped around and threw herself against the roof and walls. I tried to pick her up, but I couldn’t even hold her. She is a tiny chickens, but she was flapping for her LIFE. I thought somehow she must’ve been choking so I finally managed to catch her and slipped the elastic off easily. She ran away and stared at me in silence along with the rest of the flock, panting. I feel like I’ve done something wrong, I don’t understand. I don’t see how she could’ve been choking, the elastic was so loose it couldn’t have hurt her. I’ve never seen her go this crazy before. Now I’m too scared to try it again, and worried I will have traumatised her! What did I do wrong?! I’m so sad bc I always wanted to have a chicken inside....

 

[orloffer]

I am so sorry you had this experience with your chicken. I am not sure what to recommend or how to respond, as I am not familiar with chicken diapers and have never had something like this happen. But best of luck with your hen! Hopefully someone else can help.

 

[azygous]

Well, I could-da told ya. Chickens don't do garments. Yeah, hysterical they do get. No she wasn't traumatized. You were. And that's the whole point of the drama. Your chicken taught you something, and she taught you well.

Years ago, I had a little SLW hen and she had a bare back for a year or longer. She was getting sunburned. I measured and cut and sewed a lovely saddle and it even had ruffled shoulders to cover her bare wings.

I installed it on her and put her in the coop so she could make a grand entrance into the run to show off for the flock. Well, it didn't go quite as expected.

She burst out of the pop hole and ran hysterically around the run. She even ran backwards! Never saw a chicken do that before. Neither did the flock. They scattered, running for their lives, assuming this thing in the multi-color garment was the worst sort of chicken killer.

After about five minutes of this foolishness, the hen in the monster get-up calmed down and so did the flock. At the six-minute mark, everyone was behaving as if nothing had just happened to scare the poop out of them all.

Chickens. That's the way they roll, the little darlings.

 

[Ruthster55]

Chickens are prey animals. Their instinct is to flap for their lives if anything surrounds them like a garment (or gasp! a hawk’s wings!).

You can train a chicken to come to you and be used to handling using treats. It takes a while. Once trained in being handled it will be easier to put a hen saddle or a diaper on the chicken.

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

Chickens prefer the naked feel I guess. I don’t blame them.

 

[Ruthster55]

Once you have gotten the chicken accustomed to a little bit of human contact, you could try grabbing it off the roost at night and putting the diaper on at night.

Then re-coop the chicken to your house? I normally only allow baby chicks in the house, but I guess the point of the diaper is to have an adult house chicken....

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

She’s shy, but used to me. She’s happy to be held for a little bit, and to eat out of my hand. I don’t plan plan on making he really a permanent house chicken, I thought just occasionally for fun. In the spring I am getting some silkie chicks. I want to train them to be lap chickens

Maybe I can have a go with them?

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

So you think it was just a tantrum and she was actually ok? Should I give it another try???

Edit: Came out to give it another try and found Eb laying her egg. The other chickens freaked out and ran away when they saw it. Ebony left the nest. I don't think it's going to happen :c

Maybe I'll try with the spring babies when they are big enough. I want to make them lap chickens....Gosh, I just want a chicken running around my house so bad...my mum would lay an egg if she saw one without a nappy on though...she doesn't really like the idea of a house chicken.... I don't plan on keeping a full-time house chicken at this stage, just so I can bring them inside occasionally for cuddles and photos.

 

[azygous]

Here's an idea. In my past experience with putting garments on chickens, the ones that handled it the best were chickens that had easy going temperaments and they imprinted on me at a very early age.

If you raise some baby chicks, first select a breed that is known to be docile. I can't picture a Rhode Island Red or a Barred Rock consenting to wear a diaper. They would rather you fried them up for dinner. Try a Cochin or Easter Egger.

Then you need to handle the chicks a lot as babies. This will establish trust. Then as those chicks grow up, you will probably notice one, more than the rest, will want to be your best pal, trusting you completely.

I have such a hen now. Pearl is a one-year old Cinnamon Queen. She happened to have a wounded toe when she was a day old that I had to handle her a lot in order to treat. We had a lot of closeness as I treated her tiny toe, and now she is my best gal. There's no doubt in my mind that she would let me put a chicken diaper on her if I was so inclined.

So, what I'm trying to say is that you need to groom your candidate for the diaper from an early age. I don't think it will work to just suddenly pick a chicken for this "honor" out of the blue.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Here's an idea. In my past experience with putting garments on chickens, the ones that handled it the best were chickens that had easy going temperaments and they imprinted on me at a very early age.

If you raise some baby chicks, first select a breed that is known to be docile. I can't picture a Rhode Island Red or a Barred Rock consenting to wear a diaper. They would rather you fried them up for dinner. Try a Cochin or Easter Egger.

Then you need to handle the chicks a lot as babies. This will establish trust. Then as those chicks grow up, you will probably notice one, more than the rest, will want to be your best pal, trusting you completely.

I have such a hen now. Pearl is a one-year old Cinnamon Queen. She happened to have a wounded toe when she was a day old that I had to handle her a lot in order to treat. We had a lot of closeness as I treated her tiny toe, and now she is my best gal. There's no doubt in my mind that she would let me put a chicken diaper on her if I was so inclined.

So, what I'm trying to say is that you need to groom your candidate for the diaper from an early age. I don't think it will work to just suddenly pick a chicken for this "honor" out of the blue.

I've had ebony since she was 7 weeks old, and have spent lots of time with her, but she is very skittish. she is a silkie cross. I want to get some baby silkies and other bantams this spring that i can train to be lap and partial house chickens.