If you see a hen in what looks like a dress, it might be for a good reason.
Chicken owners today, who may see their flocks as pets rather than livestock, buy their birds some luxuries: high-end coops, expensive treats and even holiday decorations.
Some are also buying functional gear for their birds, such as “chicken saddles,” which look similar to clothing but serve another purpose: protecting hens from losing feathers and getting hurt by mating with roosters.
They’re custom made in different designs and fabrics — denim jackets, frilly aprons or heavy-duty canvas. Saddles aren’t the only functional gear you can buy for a chicken, but some enterprising Mainers are making small businesses just out of sewing them.
Roosters mate with female birds by standing on the hen’s backs, bracing themselves with their feet as they get situated. That process, called treading, can pull out their feathers and hurt their skin, especially when males get aggressive or pay a lot of attention to particular hens.
The resulting bald patches may be painful for hens and give them less protection from the elements and injury. To heal, they may have to be removed from the flock, and reintroducing them can be difficult.
Why not just get rid of the rooster? Along with fertilizing eggs, a rooster can help protect the flock and keep an orderly hierarchy.
Saddles provide a layer of protection between the two birds, and add some whimsy at the same time.
Several people make and sell chicken saddles in social media groups dedicated to Maine poultry, where members regularly ask for recommendations. One of those chicken seamstresses, Eryn Briggs, said she branched into making saddles after business slowed for the masks she started sewing during the pandemic.
The Poland Spring homesteader discovered them after one of her own hens had to be separated to heal from feather loss. When she returned the bird to the flock, the others started picking on her as if they’d forgotten she was one of them, according to Briggs.
Briggs thought there had to be a better solution, she said, and heard about saddles while asking around for ideas. She’s been making them for a few years now, tweaking the designs from customer suggestions. They needed to be light enough for summer comfort and sturdy enough to stay in place.
Hers have cotton covers with elastic to go around each wing and the chest. In response to customer demand, she added an option for wing covers too.
Saddles are something people don’t tend to think about when they get chickens, according to Briggs, but when they see them online, they see them as a solution.
“If they see it shared somewhere they will say ‘Oh that’s a good idea. I have a couple hens looking a bit rough” and they might order a couple to have just in case they need them,” she said.
Elsewhere online, saddles can be found with different wing security setups, decorative ruffles or skirts and heavy-duty material.
For the most part, clothes for hens have some function: diapers for visits indoors while injured, plastic “blinders” that go over their beaks and block their eyes from seeing straight ahead to stop them from pecking at or cannibalizing each other or special shoes to help them heal from injured feet or bumblefoot. But you can still find chicken pants, sweaters and hats online, too.
If you take the saddle route, take it off when the birds are molting or their feathers start growing back in. Friction between the fabric and stubby feathers can be painful.
