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Product Description
Ever wondered why your chicken’s fertility drops off after a while? Particularly with larger breeds and rough roosters? So often, it is because the back and sides of the hens have been scratched or even ripped from the enthusiastic male. Injured hens won’t let the rooster mate them, resulting in poor fertility. As a breeder, this often goes unnoticed unless hens are regularly checked. It can be very hard to see wounds with all the feathers in the way.
Our high quality chicken saddles provide protection for the girls and grip for the boys. In the past, before we realized the damage that can occur, we had birds die from having their sides ripped open. This happened despite the claws being trimmed and the spurs cut off! (We highly recommend doing this as well). Now all our birds wear a chicken saddle for the entire breeding season.
Easy to put on by yourself.
Our saddles are very easy to put on. They fit a large range of sizes because of their unique fastening system. We use metal snaps on the ends of each strap for durability, which gives maximum adjustment. There is no need to bend their wings through small loops, simply wrap the strap around their wing and fasten. When the cover flap is done up, there are no loose straps to get caught. The straps are soft and won’t cut into the birds wings, like elastic straps can.
Because of being able to lock each strap to the right length, the saddle does not slip from side to side, which happens if the straps just slide through a fold in the top. It is extremely rare for our saddles to come off if adjusted properly. On a rare occasion the chicken may flap their wings or appear uncomfortable with this strange thing on their back. They soon get over it (usually within an hour or two) and then you can get the benefit from it for as long as they need. Please be patient and give them time to get used to it. In our breeding season we would have about 70 hens wear them and we have never had one not get used to it.
Checking for correct length.
It is important to check that the straps are the right tension under their wings. If you can easily fit a finger in under the strap, it should be fine.
Protection, durability, comfort and a saddle that stays on, have been the driving forces behind our design. We breed from about 40 birds each season and have been using saddles for the last 8 years. We know what works and what doesn’t.
Protected and ready for action.
The canvas is breathable, tough and firm 14 oz cotton, that keeps its shape very well. It doesn’t easily blow up in the wind or flip out of the way. The trims are all double sewn with a strong thread and the grip cord, which gives the rooster more traction during mating, is triple sewn.
A feather pecked bird that will heal and regrow its feathers with the help of a saddle, as seen in the next photo.
Our saddles also help birds heal, if they have been feather pecked, preventing further damage. By fitting them at the first sign of any feather pecking, it helps stop the habit from developing. With the damaged area covered, the other birds are unable to continue pecking and so the feathers grow back to normal without having to remove and isolate the injured bird.
Because of its adjustable straps, it fits on half grown birds as well, covering most of their tail . Particularly helpful when growing out young males together, as they are renowned for feather pecking backs and tails.
With the saddle lifted up, you can see how the healing has begun and the regrowth is protected.
Down Under Outdoors.
We are a husband and wife team that breed show quality Wyandottes and Orpingtons for sale in Australia. Our main business is selling a range of products online, but our chickens take up about half of our time, as we sell hundreds of young birds at about 6 months of age each year.
We have used our saddles without any problems in heavy rain falls, heavy frosts and even in the middle of summer when it regularly gets over 100 degrees in the shade. Their design has evolved over the last 8 years to the quality product we now have available.
Geoff and Cath.