Rough stuff? Saddle up!
Hen saddles – protection from rough riding. Photo supplied.
There comes a time in the hen house when the girls get too much of a good thing.
If you see your hens’ backs denuded of feathers, sometimes even scratched, what you’re observing is too much sex in the farmyard.
Yes, at this time of year roosters can get a little over-enthusiastic and actually damage the hens in the mating process.
Sometimes it’s not very visible. But when you lift the over-feathers on a hen’s back you can see baldness.
What to do? You could separate out the rooster/s for a while to give some relief all round.
The problem is that a rooster has a serious role in your flock. He’s the organiser, the protector and the checker that no hen is left behind or lost.
If your hens have chicks, he’s the one keeping an eye out for birds of prey overhead.
I’ve seen chooks and chicks dart under the hedge at one squawk from a rooster and sure enough, there’s a beady-eyed harrier or a hawk overhead.
Chook owners sometimes get carried away by their concerns about crowing aggravating the neighbours but a rooster is the great protector of a free ranging flock.
The best solution for rough stuff in the garden is a hen saddle. This is a saddle made of toughish fabric that can withstand a rooster’s claws and allow ripped out feathers to regrow.
You can buy them online; Amazon has lots for about $20, from sturdy plain ones to fancy frilly ones.
Or if you’re average with a sewing machine, you can make your own. All you need is fabric, elastic and some velcro. Iron-on interfacing (from Spotlight) is optional.
I used left-over upholstery fabric for mine and the result is a chook happily running around in a stunning turquoise saddle.
You can find a simple pattern for a hen saddle at www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-make-a-chicken-saddle-zbcz1604.
Happy chooks, happy life.
